Parenting Toddlers

Toddlerhood is the time when imaginative play skills begin to emerge. Cars and trucks begin to travel toward a destination, possibly with noise accompaniment. Dolls are fed and put to bed. Toy phones and other objects are used to make phone calls. By 24 to 30 months old, your toddler will likely be using imaginative play, usually in multiple steps such as feeding a doll then putting it to bed or driving a car to it’s destination then parking it.

One way to encourage your toddler’s imaginative side is to get down on the floor and follow his lead. You can do this by doing what he is doing or you can ask open-ended questions. If he picks up a toy phone to make a phone call, you can pick up a toy phone or other object and do the same things. Or when your toddler picks up the toy phone, you can ask who he plans to call. As your toddler responds to your imitation and questions, continue following his lead.

Acting out stories from favorite books can also encourage and expand your toddler’s imaginative skills. For young toddlers, choose one page or scene; for older toddlers, you can act out certain scenes or the whole story in sequence. If your toddler’s favorite book is Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? you can act out the animals together, complete with animal sounds. Or if her favorite is Bluberries for Sal you can pretend to pick and eat blueberries as both Sal and her mom and as Mother Bear and Baby Bear.

You have many items around the house that can help you play with your toddler. Something as simple as an empty box can be a boat, a car, a train, a cradle or a castle. A blanket over a table or chair can be a ready-made fort or tent for camping out complete with a campfire for roasting marshmallows. Build animals or people with connecting blocks and act out a scenario with them. Play with sock puppets. Provide some of your clothing so he can dress up and pretend to be you.

The important thing to remember is to play with your toddler. Provide a variety of toys and safe items then follow her lead and ask open-ended questions. Offer suggestions as necessary, especially for young toddlers.

To learn more about following your child’s lead in imaginative play, check out Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s book, Building Healthy Minds.

Play @ Zero to Three

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Eric Carle

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

© Copyright 2007 Rebecca Wilson.  All Rights Reserved.
Used with permission.

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