Key points
Play is vital for your toddler’s cognitive development – that is, your toddler’s ability to think, understand, communicate, make memories, imagine and work out what might happen next.
This is because play is one of the main ways that your toddler explores the world. Toddlers at play are experimenting, thinking, solving problems and learning all the time.
Spending time playing with your toddler is especially good for your toddler’s cognitive development. That’s because playing together builds your relationship and sends a simple but powerful message – you are important to me. This message is key to helping your toddler learn about who they are and where they fit in the world. It also gives your toddler confidence to keep exploring and learning about the world.
A warm and loving relationship with your toddler lays the foundation for all areas of your child’s learning and development.
Toddlers will probably:
Toddlers are determined to try everything, even activities that might not be suitable for their age. They’re just trying to figure out how things work.
For example, at 12-16 months, your toddler will want to explore all toys and objects within reach – banging, dropping, pushing and shaking them to see what happens. A safe home environment will give your toddler the freedom to explore without getting hurt.
Your toddler might now understand that there are groups of things in the world. By about 16 months, your toddler might be able to sort objects into types – for example, by colour, shape or size. This helps with early maths thinking. Toys and household items like pegs and plastic cooking utensils are good for this kind of play.
Toddlers don’t know how all the concepts fit together. For example, your toddler can see that things flush down the toilet. But toddlers don’t realise that they themselves can’t be flushed down the toilet too. Or that if a leg rips off a favourite doll or teddy bear, the same doesn’t happen to a real person. Taking the time to explain these concepts can ease your toddler’s fears.
If you’re concerned about your toddler’s development, it’s a good idea to get help early. Talk with your GP, your child and family health nurse or your toddler’s early childhood educator.
It’s good to try plenty of different play activities with your toddler. This promotes cognitive development by giving your toddler many ways to learn about their world.
Here are everyday play ideas to support your toddler’s thinking and learning:
It’s a good idea to let your child take the lead with play, because toddlers learn best when they’re interested in an activity. When you follow your toddler’s lead, you can use your toddler’s interests to help them learn something new.
If your toddler is having difficulty with a play activity, you can ask what they might do next to solve the problem, or you can gently offer ideas. For example, ‘Where else could that puzzle piece fit? Have you tried turning it the other way?’ And celebrating effort will encourage your toddler to tackle new problems. For example, ‘Well done – you’ve found the right spot for it!’
Current national and international guidelines recommend that children under 2 years shouldn’t have screen time other than video-chatting with people they know. This is because very young children learn best through everyday experiences like physical play, outside play, creative play and social time with family and friends.
If you choose to let your older toddler have some digital play, it’s best to focus on making quality media choices for your toddler and sharing screen time and digital technology with them.
Our content is regularly reviewed for quality and currency. The last review of this article was by Dr Rachel Ellis, psychologist, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Berk, L.E. (2013). Child development (9th edn). Pearson Higher Education.
Bruce, T. (2011). Learning through play: For babies, toddlers and young children (2nd edn). Hodder Education.
May, P. (2013). The thinking child: Laying the foundations of understanding and competence. Routledge.
Siegler, R.S., Saffran, J., Eisenberg, N., & Gershoff, E. (2020). How children develop (6th edn). Worth Publishers.
Wittmer, D.S., & Petersen, S.H. (2018). Infant and toddler development and responsive program planning: A relationship-based approach (4th edn). Pearson Higher Education.
