Building blocks and rubber ducks aren’t just fun for your child, they’re also vital learning tools. We have the lowdown on great games to entertain and educate your little one as she grows.
Games to play with baby
Up to 1 year…
Feel the rhythm - Clapping games, singing nursery rhymes or, as her legs strengthen, ‘walking’ your baby round the room (‘one, two, three, hup, one, two, three, hup’) will help develop her sense of rhythm. Research indicates that children with a well-developed sense of rhythm learn to read more easily.
Peekaboo games - where you ‘disappear’ and then reappear, by hiding your face behind your hands, or peering at your baby around a cereal box, teach her that although you disappear, you always come back. This helps children develop emotional security and supports mental learning.
Knock ‘em down - Building a tower of about four or five bricks with your baby, and then encouraging her to knock it down, builds her confidence. She learns through these sorts of games that she can make an impact on her world.
1-2 years…
Consequences - Little ones have to learn that the universe is consistent and that some actions always have the same consequences. Toys where she learns, ‘if I push this button, the doggy always pops up’ will fascinate her for hours because they help her make sense of her world.
‘Dialogue’ - as you read Don’t just read a story to your baby, turn it into a dialogue. This improves children’s development. For instance, when you are reading Three Little Pigs, stop to talk to her about the pigs, how they’re like her toy pig, or some interesting facts about pigs in general. Take your cues from her. If she’s more interested in the wolf, talk about him instead.
Copycat - your child will be delighted if you begin to copy her actions. If she sits, you sit. If she takes a drink, you take a drink. Copying builds conversation skills – she learns about responding to another person and taking turns. She will also love copying what you do. When you are cooking, she could imitate your movements and she can follow you round the room as you clean with her own duster or brush.
2-3 years…
Happy talk - aid your child’s emotional growth by encouraging her to share her feelings with you. During a pre-bed cuddle, ask her to name the happiest part of her day. This encourages memory as well as emotional growth. As she gets older, you could first ask if anything made her sad that day (before moving on to what made her happy). Through this she’ll recognise that we can’t always be happy but we can share our feelings with people we love.
Make like Picasso - all sorts of drawing boosts development. Old fashioned colouring books help children’s spatial skills, but ‘free drawing’ is important for encouraging creativity. At around two, children will pick up a crayon with no set idea of what they are drawing, but afterwards they will tell you what it is (even if to you it is unrecognisable). But by three they are learning to discriminate, and will set out to draw a specific object, possibly
giving up if they don’t think it’s right. Your encouragement is crucial and displaying her work on the wall or fridge will boost your daughter’s confidence.
Roam free - playgrounds are brilliant, but research shows that children benefit more from having lots of space to run around in rather than sophisticated play equipment. Find areas where she can explore. Gather leaves, conkers, and flowers to turn into crafts, as this fosters creativity. Plus games like ‘don’t step on the pavement cracks’ are good for physical co-ordination.
3-4 years…
Shape up - by this stage, your little one should be able to identify shapes, sizes and colours, so challenge her by cutting out some paper circles, squares and triangles in a variety of sizes and colours, then ask her to, firstly, put them in order from the smallest to the largest, and then to group them by colour. This will stimulate her curiosity and teach her the concept of order. The lesson could help with the chores, too – when you’ve finished a load of washing, why not give your tot a bundle of coloured socks
and see if she can sort them into pairs.
Look who’s talking - your child’s vocabulary is increasing by the day – the average three-and-a-half-year-old knows more than 1,200 words – so harness this enthusiasm for language by making up stories together. Draw faces on old socks to create a cast of glove puppets, then encourage your little one to guess each character’s name, where it lives, what food it likes etc. As well as activating her imagination, this will get your daughter accustomed to constructing whole sentences and so improve her language skills.
Sing out - Children in this age group have boundless energy, so the more opportunities you can create for them to expend this, the better. Teach her some simple songs or nursery rhymes and
use basic movements to act out the words together. By the age of four, children are increasingly interested in spending time with their peers, so have an impromptu party by inviting a few of your
friends’ kids round for a lively game of musical bumps or statues.
Did you know?
When your baby is going through that annoying stage of throwing toys from her pram or spoons from her high chair over and over again, it’s really her way of trying to have a conversation with you. Your baby loves the fact that when she acts, you respond by picking up the object – just as if you were having a chat. Remembering that your baby is learning to communicate with you can make this tiring stage a little easier to bear!
