Toddlers at play

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Your toddler wants time to look, learn and try everything. She is in awe of the world right now, fascinated by everything from cracks in the pavement to other people's front yards, leaves on trees and aeroplanes overhead. That’s why a walk to the letter box can sometimes take an hour!

These very strong impulses can make it hard for your toddler to do what you ask. The word ‘no’ is bound to be met with opposition. She doesn’t understand that often you're just trying to keep her safe. Nor does she want anything to get in the way of her quest to find out about how things work. She can't understand why you won't let her do exactly what she wants, now. And she'll let you know this with confidence and volume.

She might be overwhelmed by all her new emotions, including frustration. Your reassurance, love and support are vital. Also, with all the noise, confidence and activity that accompany this age, it can be easy to forget that your toddler is still very much a baby.

Messy play that lets your toddler explore new textures and sensations will delight her. Pottering in the garden or park will also provide endless play possibilities. New abilities like pretending also open up great enjoyment, and lots of learning.

Play is most valuable for your toddler when she gets the chance to lead. If you let your toddler take the reins, whenever it's safe and possible to do so, she'll benefit by learning to make decisions and draw on her imagination. Even though you're taking a back seat, you can help her learn about language and concepts by providing a running commentary: ‘Oh, you’re riding your horse to the shops, are you?’

She’ll repeat things over and over. Repetition in play is extremely important for children. Putting things into containers, tipping them out, putting them back into containers, tipping them out. This repetition is how your child masters skills and understands what to expect in certain situations.

Ideas for playing with your toddler

• Your toddler will enjoy scribbling on paper – and on the walls, floor, fridge, your good books and the dog – with crayons, pencils and paints. And you can expect her to put any pens within reach into her mouth.
• Toddlers generally love playing with water – emptying and filling containers, playing with the hose, pouring water from a teapot into a cup or enjoying bath toys. Drowning is a major risk for toddlers, though, so watch her all the time during water play. Read more about keeping kids safe around water.
• By the time your toddler is three, dress-ups, playing house, climbing and running will all be favourite activities.
• Keep singing and reading together. This expands your toddler's knowledge of words and helps her learn to talk.
• Your toddler wants to see how things work. She’ll open and close drawers, up-end containers to investigate their contents, put them back again, put toast in the DVD player, and post all sorts of objects into all sorts of holes, and then start the whole process again as she conducts her play experiments. This is also repetition in action. 

Speak to your healthcare professional if, by 18-24 months, your toddler isn’t interested in:

• different kinds of play
• exploring different objects and toys
• sharing toys in play with you.

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