Parenting

Need more ideas to play with your child? You’ve come to the right place.

But first, why should you play with your child? Children learn through play. Parents bond with children through play. To achieve both, learning and bonding, parents must play with children.

When you play with your toddler or preschooler, it doesn’t need to be long. Some activities here only require 10-15 minutes. This is more than enough if you do it consistently. And also they don’t need to be expensive.

The bottom line is the activities must be fun and refreshing. When I see my child’s eyes sparkle when she plays, I know I have done the right thing and that is my reward.

Here are the 70 games and activities that you can do together with your child:

1) Shadow tag. On a sunny day or at night (with the help of streetlights), go to an open area. Chase around using shadows. Step on each other’s shadows. To make it more fun, try overlapping shadows to form a person with multiple hands. This will draw laughter from your toddlers.

2) Guessing game. Use your fingertip and write a number or alphabet on your child’s back. Ask him to guess what you’ve written. This is ticklish to some and they will laugh. But a fun way to learn numbers and alphabets.

3) Plant red bean trees. Use egg holder and cotton. Water everyday. This takes a longer time to follow through. You can teach your kids about plants and growth, and patience too!

4) Create a collage from newspaper and magazine clippings.

5) Go to playground.

6) Go picnic.

7) Watch TV. Not for too long, about 30 minutes on educational programs. Don’t leave them alone, watch with them. Take note what makes your kids tick.

8 ) Play jigsaw puzzle.

9) Play kite.

10) Play tug-of-war. You and your kid hold each end of a blanket (or children’s bolster) on a carpeted area. Take turns tumbling down.

11) Play simplified version of “Win, Lose or Draw.” Make a simple gesture and let your child guess what it is. For example, making a sandwich and eat it. Reverse roles.

12) Cycling.

13) Swimming.

14) Inner feelings. Before bed, ask your child, “What’s your happiest moment today?” Listen to the inner world of your child without interrupting.

15) Get a video camera and record what your kids are doing (both happy and sad moments). Watch the clips together. It’s fun to see their expressions seeing themselves on TV.

16) Online coloring. One good site is en.coloriage.com. This site offers a new drawing every day. Fun way to teach kids how to use a computer and a mouse.

17) Take a stroll in the park. This can be great exercise for you and your child. There are also jogging strollers that allow for a great workout and there is no need to worry about your youngster keeping up with you.

18) Playdough. Kids love to squeeze and playdough can be made into different shapes. Good for motor skills and creativity. You can buy playdough from a nearby toy store or you can make your own with these recipes. Or follow these pictorial instructions. Why not do it with your kids? It’s another activity in itself.

19) Play building blocks.

20) Play board games.

21) Prepare meals together.

22) Blow bubbles.

23) Bath play and bubble bath. Kids just love playing with water. Add in some bath toys. Be watchful and don’t let your kids unattended.

24) Go jungle trekking.

25) Go to waterfalls.

26) Build a castle. Materials: Styrofoam, toothpicks and Post-It notes. Great idea from Asha Dornfest.

27) Visit friends (who have kids) with your kids. Let your kids play and socialize.

28) Take a trip to the zoo.

29) Go to underwater aquarium.

30) Go to a beach. Swimming, make sand castles, collecting sea shells.

31) Go to a petting zoo.

32) Collect stamps. Let your child cut out the stamps by himself (make sure you supervise and use a pair of safety scissors) and separate stamps from envelope by soaking in the water. Dry them. Put them in the album.

33) Mirror fun. Stand still in front of a mirror. Use an erasable marker pen to draw funny features on your child’s reflections.

34) Play with magnifying glass. Burn a dried leaf, check out fine print in newspaper, leaves, insects.

35) Bring your child a bookstore or library nearby that has story telling sessions.

36) Basketball. Use a soft rubber ball and a wastebasket as the basket.

37) Sing together.

38) Dance to the tunes of children’s rhymes.

39) Play domino. Let the chain reaction amaze the children. We use Jenga blocks.

40) Read newspaper together. Kids like pictures and cartoons.

41) Make facial expressions. Sad, happy, angry, neutral. Ask your child to guess the feelings based on expressions.

42) Origami or paper folding. Origami helps kids to learn sequencing, concentration, and attain great sense of achievement. Try these projects.

43) Art with sponge. Cut sponge into different shapes. Put color onto them and stamp on a piece of drawing paper to form interesting patterns. Voila another artpiece for your fridge.

44) Go to a pet shop.

45) Play horsey.

46) Bicycle movement. Lie down on your back together with your kids. Your legs in the air and feet touching each other. Make pedal movement.

47) Play with balloons.

48) Wash car together.

49) Make a card for their teacher.

50) When shopping, ask your kids to help locate things you want to buy.

51) While on the move, ask your kids to read out the plate number of a car next to you.

52) Bring your kids to a clay modeling class.

53) Go to an orchard.

54) Bring your kids to a museum.

55) Make animal sounds and let your kids guess.

56) Make handprints and footprints of your kids.

57) Make a necklace or bracelet by cutting a straw into smaller pieces. And string them together with a string.

58) Mix different buttons/beans together and ask your kids to sort by shapes/colors. Adult supervision is required for younger children.

59) Record your child singing and play back. First step to stardom.

60) Play sink or float. Ask your child to pick small water-proofed objects from his toy box, light and heavy. Place one object after another into a container full of water. Watch them as they float or sink.

61) Cut a cereal box into pieces and custom make a puzzle.

62) Tearing up paper from magazine, newspaper or brochure. Try different speed. My daughter asked for more when we did this the last time.

63) Watch rain and teach your kids about nature.

64) Teach your kids about body parts using a picture or take an online quiz.

65) Communicate with your toddlers about his likes and dislikes (food, toys, animals, etc). Take turns to share yours as well.

66) Teach your kids how to tell time.

67) Explain to your kids how money works when you buy something.

68) Dress up stuffed animals or favorite cartoon characters.

69) Ask your toddler to go around the house and get things of certain color: green, red, blue.

70) Use a paper plate to make a mask by cutting out the eyes and nose. Draw features as you wish. Use a string or rubber band to tie around your child’s head.

Of course the list is not finite. But it’s a good place to start. Some activities you can do it after work. Some need more time, you have to do it on weekends.

(See also: Toddler games that teach kids about science and nature)

If you’re looking for more activity ideas, check out Rookie Moms. It’s updated with new activities regularly.

We’ve all seen Jo Frost, the Supernanny at work. If only we all had her tenacity, her enthusiasm and her motivation. She seems to identify the best and worst in children’s behavior and eliminate one while highlighting the other. Admirable indeed!

How to recognize your child’s talents

You can do that too; the key is in devoting concentrated, focused time on them in order to make that same identification. After all, Supernanny doesn’t spend a great deal of time with a new child, getting to know him or her. She waltzes in, hones in on the positive and negative and gets to work.

Every child is born with a set of talents and strengths that should be nurtured. To bring up a well-rounded child who approaches life with enthusiasm and a positive attitude, it’s your job to encourage those qualities. At least once a day, put down your cleaning products, leave the vacuum cleaner aside, turn the television off, stop chasing your tail and just watch.

Watch how your little one plays, how he interacts with other family members and how he carries himself. Listen to the words he uses, see how interested he is in reading, music, colors, animals, textures and any other element that seems to compel him.

How many times have you heard that a famous musical artist was performing for family members at age three? Best selling authors have often grown up writing prolifically, whether on napkins, the backs of greeting cards or even their hand. Scientists are likely to have had a great need to investigate the way things work or how they are made.

Keep expectations neutral

Still, just because you discover something that your child does more than other things, doesn’t mean he will be meant for a profession in a related field. What’s important is that you encourage the things that come naturally to him and this will lead to a desire for learning and an enjoyment of achievement.

So if your two-year old is conducting experiments with his mashed potatoes and peas and catapulting them into the air using a spoon, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to be a rocket scientist. It could mean, however, that he has a terrific sense of humor or a deep creativity, each that deserve to be fostered and encouraged at every opportunity.
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Myths abound about the myriad ways you can influence your baby’s intelligence. For some, it begins before birth and you’ll see enthusiastic parents eager to produce a prodigy playing music to the expectant mother’s belly. Once the baby’s born, the education continues with background classical music playing while the infant is drifting off to sleep, and also during bath time and meal time.

Whether or not classical music is able to influence a human being’s intelligence at any age is something scientists commonly debate. What’s more clear is that babies truly enjoy music for its rhythms, its varying pitches and the general mood-enhancing qualities that come along with it.

Nature or Nurture?

Author Marcus Buckingham in his book Now, Discover Your Strengths explains that intelligence is something that is developed even before birth, but there isn’t any real evidence to suggest that its influence can be greater or lesser just because there is lovely music playing in the outer world.

Many things in a human’s development are learned. Sucking one’s thumb is an instinctive behavior that takes place even in utero, the same as for scratching, yawning and puckering lips. Punters over the generations have even tried to claim that thumb sucking is variously a sign of high, or low, intelligence, depending on whom you ask. That’s hardly fair, is it?

The key to the benefits of classical music for babies seems to be more about creating a positive environment in which learning is easier and more enjoyable. Musical scientists could extol the virtues of complicated compositions and try to have us believe that if a baby tunes in to the depths and complexities of the arrangement, his intelligence will benefit. The question is, how is such a thing measured?

Another argument is that babies commonly fall asleep while listening to classical music. That’s not entirely a bad thing … particularly for his parents, desperate for a few moments’ peace. But one thing that has been proven is that sleep is enormously beneficial to brain development and if a classical piece can lull a restless child to slumber land, then one can attribute better intelligence to symphonies and arias.

Playing classical music in the home or car as a consistent aural backdrop pays dividends in other ways too. If the other occupants enjoy it, a naturally calm and pleasant ambience will be the result. A happy home is one where children thrive and whose brains are not cluttered with negative messages, hindering the way for learning and understanding.

Furthermore, when a baby is exposed to positive sensory experiences, the enrichment of parental and sibling bonding is enhanced.

One of the nicest things about classical music is that it comes in a wide array of styles. You probably wouldn’t play Wagner to your infant unless you want a cranky, ill-tempered child on your hands. But pop a CD of the Masters such as Bach, Mozart or Strauss into the stereo and watch your tiny loved one thrill to the strains of some of history’s most amazing musical works of art.

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There’s nothing more heart-wrenching than hearing your baby cry and not knowing what’s wrong. Unfortunately, until they can talk, babies are literally “at a loss for words” when it comes to telling us what’s going on with them and how best we can help. At least that used to be the case. Now, thanks to a new approach to infant communication we call the Baby Signs® Program, children don’t have to wait until they can talk to let us know what’s on their minds.

What Is On Their Minds?

Just because babies can’t talk doesn’t mean they don’t have lots to say. Especially as they approach their first birthdays, babies understand a good deal about the world and even a great many of the words adults use to talk about it. “Go get your diaper, Taylor,” and 12-month-old Taylor happily toddles off and grabs a diaper. “Time for your bath, Mason,” and 13-month-old Mason heads to the bathroom as fast as his wobbly legs can carry him.

But ask Taylor or Mason why they are crying, and although they understand the question and know full well what the answer is, all they can do is cry harder. The problem is with the painstakingly slow development of the ability to produce words. To say even a simple word like “milk” or “juice” requires the intricate sequencing of a complex assortment of tiny muscles. The task is particularly challenging because at birth, Taylor and Mason’s vocal tract more closely resembles that of a chimpanzee than an adult human’s!

The Baby-Created Solution

Fortunately, babies are a good deal more adept at controlling the movement of other parts of their bodies – and they know it! As our research studies in the mid-1980s documented, in their desperation to communicate, many babies spontaneously create gestural symbols or “signs” to stand for the things they want to talk about. They may emphatically blow-blow-blow when their food or bath water is too hot, delightedly pant-pant-pant to let you know they see a dog, or even combine the pant-pant-pant with a knob-turning gesture to tell you the family dog wants to go out! All of these are self-created “signs” we saw babies using in their desperation to find a way around the frustrating barrier of not being able to talk. In fact, the very first baby we saw do this was Linda’s own 12-month-old daughter, Kate, way back in 1982. The sniff-sniff-sniff she adopted to label flowers was what set this whole signing movement in motion!

Making It Easy for Babies

Once you know that babies are eager to use simple gestures to stand for things, the natural next step is to make it easy for them by purposefully modeling signs for things they are likely to want to talk about — like they are hungry, thirsty, or want more; like their bathwater or food is too hot: like they hear a dog barking or an airplane flying overhead. Providing sign suggestions and tips for teaching is what the Baby Signs® Program is all about. Drawing on simple signs from American Sign Language (ASL), as well as a few baby-created suggestions, we’ve designed wonderful resources and fun classes that can make learning signs a breeze for everyone in the family.

But Will They Learn to Talk?

“If you encourage a baby to use signs, won’t that slow down learning to talk? If she can get what she wants with signs, why bother to learn words?” It’s the most common concern we hear parents voice and it’s the specific question we have worked very hard over many years to answer. With the help of a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we carefully compared signing babies to non-signing babies from the same communities on standardized tests of verbal language development. What did we find? In test after test the signers were more advanced than the non-signers in language skills. They were learning to talk sooner, not later! Here’s how we like to explain it: Just as crawling doesn’t slow down walking, signing doesn’t slow down talking. In fact, it adds to a baby’s enthusiasm for doing so. We’ve even discovered that the children who had used signs as infants scored significantly higher than the non-signers on IQ tests at age 8!

More Important Benefits

As glad as we were to discover that signing had such positive effects on learning to talk and on intellectual development, we believe very strongly that the most important benefits are emotional ones. As you will soon discover for yourself as you open this window into your baby’s mind, when you truly understand and communicate with someone, you feel more connected. Here are just a few of the specific ways this sense of connection benefits families…

Using signs with a baby….

• REDUCES tears, tantrums, and frustration
• ALLOWS babies to express needs and share their worlds
• ENRICHES interactions between adults and babies and strengthens the parent-child bond
• REVEALS how smart babies are and increases parents’ respect for them
• HELPS BUILD babies’ self-confidence and self-esteem

Who wouldn’t want these things for their baby? Who wouldn’t want to make even sweeter this magical time when babies are discovering the wonders of the world around them? That’s why all of us at Baby Signs® are so dedicated to helping families experience these joys – and more – for themselves.

For more information about Baby Signs® Programs and resources available to make signing fun and easy, visit us at www.babysignsmalaysia.com. Please contact Jamie Solomon at jamie@babysignsmalaysia.com or call her at +6(03)-80765936 to find out more.

Copyright (c) 2005 Baby Signs, Inc.

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