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.