Helping your toddler to develop their skills can be such a fun time. While every child develops at their own rate, being able to support this development means you are giving your little one the best chance at life by helping nail those all-important skills.
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Teaching children, especially those this young, should be done as fun and simply as possible to help them learn easier and retain information. With 80% of brain development completed by the age of three and 90% by the time they are five, these are the best years to get those all-important lessons and life skills in place. Research suggests that, much like everyone else, toddlers learn better in a fun, more playful environment than in an educational one.
So as you are trying them, make sure you are having fun with them too.
The following tips can help you to teach your toddler while they are having fun.
Outdoor Play
Balance and coordination are two things most people pick up as they get older, but toddlers, who don’t have a complete sense of awareness yet, might need some additional support. Playing games such as following a line, playing catch, football and riding Balance Bikes can all be helpful in teaching balance and coordination. As can having them dance around to become more aware of where they place their body and learn to hop, stand still on one leg, jump on trampolines, and more to do this in a relaxed and fun way.
Singing and Dancing
Singing and dancing are both excellent ways to help your child learn. Dancing can assist with balance, coordination, self-control of their bodies and learning about how fun exercise can be, all while moving in time (or not as the case may be) to music, be it uptempo or slow.
Singing can help your child express themselves, learn numbers, letters, and facts and get to grips with language easier. While they might not understand the words at this point, you can still have them practise singing to pick up new words, learn their correct pronunciation and get them used to saying them.
Reading
Reading with your children is so important. Much like singing, reading them exposes them to new words, helps them build language skills, exposes them to different things and helps them develop a sense of curiosity and imagination. Around half of the parents read to their children aged 12 and under every night, while 9 admit to never reading with their kids or only doing so occasionally.
Play Groups
Socialisation is extremely important for young children. At this age, they change so much developmentally, and taking them to places where they can interact with other children will help teach them a whole host of life skills, from learning to share to communicating with others. Playing with kids in any environment (hello, the dreaded soft play) can build confidence and self-esteem; it can teach them how other kids behave and help them build connections that can make this less scary as they age. The more comfortable they make friends and socialise at this age, the easier it will be for them as they age.
Teaching your toddler new skills and helping their development doesn’t need to be strict or boring. In fact, the more fun they have learning means, the more they are developing those all-important pathways and getting the experience they need to help them as they transition through childhood and into adulthood.
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