With so many children spending most of their lives at home right now, it’s more important than ever to keep playtime for kids productive and meaningful. This will allow them to thrive and hit all of the appropriate developmental milestones during these challenging times.
Make Playtime for Kids Productive and Fun With These Tips
If you’re looking for a subtle way to add an educational or organizational element to playtime for your kids, then take a look at this brief list we’ve put together. With these handy tips, playtime for your kids will be both fun and intellectually stimulating.
Add an Interactive Element to Playtime
As infants grow into toddlers, they will begin to become more assertive and take an active lead in play. At this stage, toddlers want to choose their playtime activities, whether it is coloring or playing with blocks. When playtime comes, make sure that parents and siblings are involved and ensure that children play and choose their own activities.
Participate in Pretend and Make-Believe
Another effective way to stimulate intellectual development and critical thinking in toddlers and young children is to take an active role in playing pretend and make-believe. By encouraging your children to act and use their imaginations freely, you’re building empathy, because pretending always involves thinking about others’ feelings and perspectives.
Engage Toddlers and Babies in One-On-One Talk
The last item on our list is also the simplest and most basic way to make playtime for kids productive. At some point during the day, we encourage the parents of babies and toddlers to engage in a solo, one-on-one conversation with their kids. By taking the time to talk directly to your toddler or even simply making a funny face, you’re building neural pathways and stimulating intellectual development.