Your baby’s first few days are probably the most exciting time you can have with him. You are just relieved from your pregnancy days, all those days of reading, eating and relaxing in your favourite pregnancy bottoms. This is the time now for some real adventure to watch your child grow up so fast, see him when trying to learn the world around him as his body becomes stronger and his mind opens up. It is essential to expose him to as many activities as possible to enhance his development potential.
You will hardly realize but it will soon be time to hire some amazing children party entertainers to make the first birthday the most memorable one.
Luckily, you don’t have to spend a fortune on invest in the best developmental activities for your child. This is because they are achieved through play, and all you need to do is give your toddler access to it!
1. Label everything in your home
If you want your children to learn what everything in your household at a very young age, labeling them is the wisest decision you can make.
Simply make labels of the same size and stick them with a blue painter’s tape for easy removal. Labeling makes the toddlers realize that every item has a set of common symbols. Therefore, when they are old enough, they will be able to tell that the word refrigerator starts with the letter “R” because they have seen this for quite a long time.
Experts recommend that after some time, rotate the labels and see if your toddler can remove every label and place it to the object it represents, for example, you can stick the television label on the lamp, and see if the toddler will remove it and attach it to the right place. This is one of the best ways to encourage development in toddlers because it will have a tremendous impact on brain development.
2. Introduce organization
Naturally, toddlers are not organized. This is because their minds are not fully developed, and they cannot tell what goes where, and how everything in your household should be organized. However, children learn through socialization; hence you can help them become organized by simply introducing organization.
You can put a few labels on bins that show where dishes, clothes, toys, and everything else in your home is kept. Train the toddler to keep everything in its place, and in no time, you might convert this activity into a guessing game. Keep asking your toddler where a particular item belongs, and if he gets it wrong, correct the mistake. In no time, he will learn through reflex action. By doing this, you will help your kid grow into a responsible adult.
3. Show him the town!
Crazy, right?
As crazy as it sounds, taking on the town is one of the activities that can enhance your toddler’s development. Let them get familiar with your local town by showing him the gas station, the supermarket, the pregnancy pants store, fire station, and other places of interest. Whenever you pass through any of these places, try to explain to him what they do and how they work. The toddler might not understand everything you say, but through constant exploration, he will be able to identify the places with ease.
4. Sing vocabulary songs
You don’t want your child to learn vocabulary and numbers when he goes to school. You want him to learn them as soon as now. Therefore, create funny alphabet songs, rhyming words, and numbers. Then encourage the child to sing during bath time, when playing with other kids, and in the car. If you have taken him to a preschool or daycare, ask the teacher to reinforce the songs. Also, teach your nanny and/or babysitter the songs, so that you can make sure everybody close to your toddler is involved in this noble task.
Before you know it, your child will start learning through the songs as he recites numbers, body parts, letters, and days of the week. What an exciting way to enhance your toddler’s development!
Toys That Can Help Improve Your Toddler’s Development
Other than doing developmental activities with your kid, it is also essential that you give them some free space to explore their creativity. There are various toys and equipment available that can help enhance your toddler’s social, language, motor, and emotional development. When choosing toys for your toddlers, ensure that they are safe, playable, and durable. Here are the best toys you can get for your toddler.
Traditional Shape Sorter
Out of all the traditional toys for toddlers, shape sorters are some of the most widely used because they have a lot of benefits in helping improve your toddler’s development. When choosing a shape sorter, look for one with large pieces and simple shapes. Try to find one with no more than four types of shapes; otherwise, your toddler may get confused. This toy is excellent for helping a toddler’s social, motor, and cognitive, social skills.
Blocks
Blocks are incredibly versatile development equipment that can be used in various ways. You can play with your toddler, help them stack them, and discuss their colors, shapes, and more. This will help your toddler develop cognitive, motor, language, and social development. Blocks can also help increase their hand strength and agility. When purchasing blocks, ensure you buy the right size so your child can easily pick them up and move them around.
Three-Piece Puzzles
Three-piece puzzles are an excellent way to help your child develop their cognitive, social, motor, and emotional skills. When starting with puzzles, ensure you give them simple peg puzzles with no more than three to four pieces. Toddlers generally enjoy looking at brightly colored puzzles as they can pick them up, look at the colors and then decide where to place them to make the picture.
Bubbles
Bubbles are extremely fun for toddlers as it encourages them to jump around and chase them. Not only do they help them burn their energy, but it also helps develop their motor and cognitive skills.
Your toddler might learn many things even without much input from you, but if you try any of the strategies mentioned above, you will go a long way in speeding up the process and raising an intelligent adult!