HAPPIEST TODDLER®
3 Types of Play Toddlers Need Every Day

The Benefits of Toddler PlayÂ
One of the biggest myths about childhood is that play is just frivolous entertainment . . . a âwaste of time.â Actually, play is much more important than academics during the toddler years. Play is a top toddler nutrient. Happy, healthy toddlers have their days filled with chasing, pretending, rolling, and tinkering.Â
When you give your child a big daily dose of âVitamin P,â you:
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thrill their senses
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help them master movement
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sharpen their thinking
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encourage their language use
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boost their people skills
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teach them about the world
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stimulate their immune system
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build their self-confidence
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improve their sleep
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feed their meter to encourage good behaviorÂ
There are three types of play that you should try to give your child every day: outside play, creative activity, and reading.Â
Outside Toddler Play: Kids âGo Apeâ When Theyâre Cooped Up
Some of my happiest childhood memories are of playing outside: rolling down grassy hills, kicking heaps of fallen leaves, making snowmen. (Many of us still revel in these activities.) But while adults enjoy the fresh air, toddlers donât merely like itâthey need it. A 2-year-old cooped up in an apartment all day may feel as trapped as Tarzan stuffed into a tight tuxedo.
And donât be afraid to go out in âbad weather.â Rain, wind, and snow add to the fun. Just get the proper clothes and shoes for yourself and your toddler and run out and have a ball!Â
Creative Toddler Play: Your Childâs Favorite ToyâHis BrainÂ
Imagination is the key to mankindâs greatest advances, from the arts to the sciences. Science and math are important, but, as the complete quote from Einstein reads, âImagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines what we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.â (I know this quote well because itâs printed on my computer mouse pad!)Â
Feed your toddlerâs creativity with:
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Art materials: Go for variety: crayons, Play-Doh, collage materials, watercolors, finger paint.
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Realâor replicaâhousehold items: Toddlers love âmonkey see, monkey do.â As the months pass, they want to imitate you more and more. Use household goodies like pots/pans/wooden spoons, a toy phone, or a small broom and dustpan.
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Props for pretend play: Dolls and dollhouses, action figures, toy dinosaurs, and lots of costumes and dress-up clothes. By age 3, a childâs interest expands from imitating their parents to trying on new identitiesâsuch as princess, ballerina, firefighter, and cowboy.
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Sensory materials: Molding clay, a sandbox or sand table, a splash pool, a watering can, pouring toys for the bathtub, swatches of different materials (satin, velvet, corduroy, sandpaper)
Book Play for Toddlers: Reading Is Feeding
Want your child to have a healthy brain? Feed it⌠by reading! The key to reading with toddlers is to do it with them. Reading makes kids smarter, and itâs a sweet opportunity to snuggle close and join your hearts.
Hereâs how to adjust your reading routine for your childâs age:
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Early toddlers (12 to 24 months): These tots are active! So pick a reading time when your child is tired. Use books with cloth or cardboard pages. Talk a lot about what you see: âLook, a doggie! What does a doggie say? What do doggies eat?â Turn the book into a game: âHey, you be the doggie. Can you bark? Wow! What other animals can we find?â
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Middle toddlers (24 to 36 months): Two-year-olds like things âjust so.â Your child may howl if you skip part of a story heâs learned by heart. âDo it right!â heâll protest. As you turn each page, offer your child a chance to be smart by asking, âWhatâs going on now?â
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Older toddlers (36 to 48 months): Older toddlers love stories about animals and people (and trucks!). And they love to compare whatâs happening in the story to situations theyâve experienced. âOh, honey, Bigelow the rabbit dropped his ice creamâŚThatâs like when you spilled your beans at lunch.â Older toddlers repeat lines from books to their stuffed animals and even make up their own stories. Now theyâre at the stage when they love it if you âaccidentallyâ make a silly mix-up of the words. They giggle with joy when they catch you making a âmistake.â
[Related: 11 Interactive Books More Engaging Than an iPad]
Do you see why play is so brilliant? So, for as much time as you spend teaching your tot her A-B-Câs and 1-2-3âs, donât forget about the equally important P-L-A-Y!
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