6 simple ways to engage a toddler-It’s not that difficult

Is your toddler the adventurous or curious type? They can’t just settle at one place for long. Well most of the toddlers are very twitchy to sit at one place and just don’t sojourn. They love to explore different things at the same time. They want many toys and games at one go. 
Many a times you see them playing with one toy for 10 min and will soon get distracted with the other.
But there are many such activities which we as a parent can make our fervent toddlers do. 
Toddlers are always open to new ideas, concepts, language and activities. Whatever new you present in front of them, their face will light up like a bulb.


Let’s explore few:

1.      Hidden treasures:
I love to see my daughters expression whenever we give her a new toy, "Thank u mumma papa for the surprise", she says so innocently, this is because I never give her toys at one go.  Whenever she gets toys as gifts on birthday or any other occasion I keep all of them aside and remove them one by one, say a new toy every month. This way she never gets bored. Similarly we can do even with the existing toys. Do not keep all toys
in one place for their easy access. For e.g. remove blocks for one week then kitchen set, then rings for consecutive weeks. So every week they have a new toy to play. Same can be done with clothes, because children now a day have a big fetish for clothes, accessories and shoes.

2.      Books: Children love to see colourful pictures. 
Reading habit encouraged from an early age makes a lot of difference in the vocabulary and intellectual of the child. Many children do not like reading. But they love when their parents read out stories to them with full actions. They like drama and being dramatic.

3.      Children enjoy playing with colours and clays. Best is to give them blank book and let them explore their creativity. There are many drawing and colouring books available in the market.
You can draw and tell them to paint. It is so much fun canvasing together. Similarly making different shapes from clay is so much exciting. It is easy to teach alphabets and numbers through clay moulds.

4.      Learn while playing: Playing and Learning go handy. If you constantly nag and lecture them, it will be wasted as they are too small to understand. Instruction manuals are not for toddlers. For them, experiencing activity itself drives learning. Make it amusing. Do role plays.

 Concepts like a house, tree, animals, and fruits can be thought while doing some craft activities. E.g. If u want to teach them what is a house, form it with candy sticks. You can let them colour candy sticks and stick it on paper by making a house.

Making them aware of community helpers like doctors, fireman, postman, etc. can be done through role play. Preschools have lots of such activities. Use the same method at home.

5.      Children learn well when they indulge in singing. Teaching concepts through singing is a fantastic way to retain it in their memory. They learn while reciting it frequently.

6.      Free play: No method, no games, no colours, no puzzles. Just giving them free time to do whatever they want to, will explore their logical and artistic abilities. Playing with utensils, plastic dabbas, rolling flour, making chapatis in their own shapes, cycling, playing with friends, at home or park, etc., will give them space to think beyond their imagination. They will develop cognitive and emotional skills.

Every child and every parent is different. But the requirement to learn while playing for every child is the same. Children do not need One time lesson. Learning has to be interactive and immersive too.

I am sure each mum must have tried something new daily to engage your toddler. Do share your ideas.
My inkling: Give them 3 different kind of pulses and let them segregate. My dd gets engaged for an hour with this.However, this should be done when your toddler doesn’t have the habit of eating anything found.

Healthy Happy Hands: Chalk it Up!

Dirty hands, filthy clothes, cuddling puppies, playing with cats, exploring mud, art with colours, moulding with clay, scribbling with chalk, are some of the endearing and grimiest activities which kids do. We cannot stop them since all these help in development of skills.

Getting dirty is a part of growing up. But maintaining hygiene is equally important. My daughter loves playing with cats and dogs. She would caress and embrace the lovable street animal. The moment she does this I have to rush her to a nearby washroom and clean her hands with soap and water. Since children as young as my daughter who is 3, still do not understand the importance of maintaining clean hands. Putting their fingers in the mouth, eating immediately after playing, throwing tantrums to wash hands are some of the annoying habits they display. We have to show extra care, as majority of illness pass through hands and can make the entire family sick. It is imperative to set hygiene standards for the entire family.

Toddlers love to play and write with chalk on slates. They get attracted with the different shades of chalks and the best part is they can easily rub the scribbled with their hands. Imagine your child doing the same and not washing hands with soap and starts eating with the chalked hands!

There are many primary schools in India which still use chalk and slate for writing. Children in their breaks merely wash hands with water and don’t even use soaps.

Savlon in their new CSR activity came up with the brilliant Idea of infusing chalk sticks with cleanser like soap.  How? Watch the video which was launched on Children’s Day 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVWUlWEfJ1k

This gives an advantage to children and parents since they now feel their kids are also secured by germs. Washing hands acts like a natural self-vaccination and medication. It is the best precautionary measure that can be taken to avoid getting attacked by any kind of infections.

Why washing of hands is of prime importance:

1. Germs are everywhere and can cause major illness outbreaks

2. They reside in unknown areas and common ones like the handle of the toilet. In my house, I have made it compulsory to wash hands even if you just touch the handle of the door.

3. When one shakes hands with others, it becomes convenient for the germs to travel. Suppose if you have cold and you do not use a napkin while coughing or sneezing. And you happen to shake hands with a kid. The child unknowingly becomes carrier of virus and might use his hands for eating or playing with his toys which becomes further breeding ground for germs. The viral gets passed on to him and might continue with others.

4. It protects one against viral infections, diarrhea and respiratory illness.

Washing of hands should be encouraged after visiting washroom, before eating, after playing and after sneezing or coughing. I am always behind my daughter to wash hands after playing even if she is at home with toys which are cleaned often. I myself have an OCD of keeping house and ourselves clean. I wash my hands frequently. But mere washing hands with water shall not do away with germs. One needs to wash hands with soap and water. Rubbing hands with soap, in front and back of hands, in between fingers, nails by making enough lather is the right way to wash hands.

Drilling the habit of hand hygiene requires behavioral change. Savlon Swasth India’s ‘Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks’ has highlighted this concept in a unique and innovative way.

Children are the bright future of our nation. They have to be cared and nourished. Inculcating good hygiene habits from childhood will help them shape a healthy & positive personality and will lead to a foundation of healthy society.

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