James Dobson, in the book “Bringing Up Boys” quotes his father as once saying, “If you let that child get bored, you deserve whatever he does to you!” He must have been talking about a toddler. Toddlers are energetic, inquisitive, and mobile--- they make things happen.

But despite this new competence, Dr. Coco Readdick, professor of child development at Florida State University, says toddlers “are still babies. In our rapid culture, we gave them new nomenclature by calling them toddlers. But in anthropological literature, they are referred to as ‘knee babies’. They love to venture off, but pretty soon they’ll need to come back. They are just learning to be autonomous,” she says. “But they have to do that within a safe distance, both in the hearing and the sight of the parent.”

Moms know toddlers need close supervision, but often find it challenging to get anything else done while keeping a toddler occupied. If the Barney videos at your house are getting worn out, you may be ready to try an idea adapted from Montessori preschools. “Play stations” are independent activities set up on carpet squares or masking-tape shapes on the floor. Children stay with one activity for 5 to 10 minutes. When a timer rings, they rotate to another station. Good activities include: dollhouse and people, Cheerios to string, blocks, stacking cups, Legos, simple puzzles, and stories on tapes.

Dr. Readdick says play stations work because they “acknowledge your child’s need to be close, their need to be at your knee, yet give them an environment in which they have a chance to be autonomous and do something by themselves. And if they get in a stall, there you are to help.”

To keep their interest high, limit play station time to less than an hour each day. Vary activities often to suit your child’s interests, and keep hazards away from little ones. For several children, 4-6 activities are adequate---set up stations a few feet apart to avoid squabbles. The time it takes to set up play stations will be rewarded by the sight of your little ones learning to play happily--- and independently -- near you.

MORE IDEAS

1.) Indoor ‘sandbox’: Put uncooked rice into a large bowl on a bed sheet on the floor. Add cups, funnels, and spoons. Afterwards your child can help clean up with a small broom and dustpan.

2.) Toy Dump: Suspend a plastic bucket from the ceiling about a foot off the floor. Put a plastic dishpan under it full of small toys. Toddlers fill the bucket and dump it back into the dishpan.

3.) Ball Toss: Use a bucket and aluminum foil balls, and make a masking tape ‘free-throw’ line to stand behind.

4.) Sewing Cards: Glue a picture to cardboard, then outline the picture with a hole punch. Your child ‘sews’ the picture using a long shoelace.


More Developmentally Appropriate Ideas For Toddlers