Below are our articles about Play Time. Click here to read our Introduction to Child Routines.
Headed to a park or playground this summer? If so, keep these fun ideas in mind to foster your child’s development and creativity while outdoors! Birth-6 Months Simply being outdoors, where your child can experience a multitude of new sounds, sights, and smells, will provide your child with new sensory experiences. Allowing your child to touch leaves, grass, flowers, and …
Have you ever wondered why your child gets bored with his or her toys? Often even after the holidays when your house may have an abundance of new and exciting toys, children still tend to lose interest in toys after a few weeks. So, why does your child becomes bored with his/her toys so easily? And how can you help …
Paint with Water: Use a large cup, bowl or small bucket and an extra large paintbrush (such as the ones you use to paint the house) and let your child go to town painting the fence, sidewalk, outside of the house, etc. This provides tons of fun and is a nice fine motor activity. Fly a Kite: Remember doing this …
Parents and their children are actually participating in oral motor activities and modeling oral motor skills during their daily routines without even being aware of it. Here are some fun ways to target oral motor skills during play and daily routines with your child that provide multiple opportunities to practice each skill and are fun for everyone!
Parenting a toddler is a challenge, even more so if you already have older or younger children in your home. Many parents often wish that their children ages 12-36 months would just “stay still” for a bit so they could catch a break.
As a developmental therapist I am always amazed when parents tell me that they weren’t aware that their young children would enjoy such “old fashioned” toys as stacking blocks, nesting cups, ring stacks & stringing beads. Not only do toddlers enjoy these activities, but they learn a lot of important cognitive, fine motor skills and other developmental skills by playing …
What Are Good Toys for Toddlers? The definition of a toy is “something to play with”. Some parents feel that good toys must be store bought or require batteries, but if we broaden our horizons, anything can become a toy. Cardboard boxes, laundry baskets, pots & pans, empty containers, even flashlights, blankets & pillows can offer hours of entertainment for …
What most people don’t tell you when you have a baby, is that along with the baby, comes a mountain of toys. New parents frequently wonder why their baby doesn’t show much interest in the shiny new toy that Grandma brought when in all reality, its not that they’re not interested in it, it may be that your baby’s developmental …
Ideas for Playing with Your Child One play idea is to set a theme for your week. For example: Vehicles. Go to the library and check out books on vehicles. Identify pictures of vehicles in magazines. Draw pictures of vehicles. Sort the play vehicles your child has at home. Go for a walk with your child and search for red …
