What Activities Can I Be Doing at Home With My 2-year-old?
The time you spend at home with your toddler can be valuable for both of you. No doubt, your child can benefit just from watching you take care of the house, speak on the phone and handle a myriad of other personal responsibilities. However, once you recognize and appreciate the specific developmental milestones associated with 2 year olds, you can plan to include a variety of age-appropriate activities in your daily schedule. You will need to be flexible, however, as this is an age of increasing independence for your child. Be sure to allow your toddler some freedom to decide how he spends his time with you.
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Encourage Physical Development
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Your toddler has probably discovered the joys of running and climbing, although he may still be somewhat awkward and unsteady. You can encourage his gross motor development by setting up small, safe obstacle courses in your living room or play area. With your child's help, gather together pillows, sturdy chairs, step stools and other items of varying heights and design an obstacle course. You can lead the way, or use a stuffed animal to demonstrate the path to follow. You can turn on lively music to make the activity more fun and engaging. If your child enjoys handling a ball, as many 2-year-old children do, encourage your child to kick the ball as he walks through the course or to roll it with his hands while crawling.
Encourage Language Development
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You can take advantage of the one-on-one time you have with your toddler to work on his language skills. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is common for children of this age to speak up to 50 words. Make sure your child is using the vocabulary he has and encourage him to experiment with new words. Your child will benefit greatly from hearing a running commentary about everything you are doing. For example, as you fold the laundry, talk about the process of sorting, folding and putting away. Engage him in conversation about your lunch preparations. You may find that he is stringing words together and using simple adjectives, such as "big" and "hot." You can pick up on his cue and emphasize the use of descriptive words when you converse with him. As you unpack the groceries following a trip to the grocery store, name the item you are holding and describe it simply. For example, ask your child to "put the yellow lemons in the refrigerator." As your child helps to put the items where they belong, sing a simple descriptive phrase about every item. You might sing, "yellow lemons, yellow lemons, yellow lemons in the fridge."
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Encourage Social Development
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Now that your child is 2, you have probably noticed some changes in terms of his social skills. He may have less difficulty separating from you and may feel less anxious about meeting and playing alongside other children. All of this stems from his developing sense of himself as an individual, separate from you. You can take advantage of and encourage your child's increasing self awareness by inviting other children to your home and organizing activities that involve others. Lead the children in friendly, simple games of tag and hide-and-seek or let the children color or finger paint alongside one another. Although the children may not interact much with each other, you may discover that your child simply enjoys the company of other children as you read aloud to him and the others on the couch.
Encourage Cognitive Development
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The activities you choose to engage in with your child can help promote his cognitive development. Among the cognitive skills associated with this age, the Mayo Clinic lists the ability to engage in imaginary play, the ability to sort items according to type and an understanding of how to search for missing objects. You can involve your child in activities that develop these and other cognitive skills. Together with your child, you can "visit" the shoe store. Make a game of gathering all the shoes in your house and sorting them neatly into pairs on the floor of your play area. You can invite your child to try them on and select a pair to take home. After your child selects a pair, you take a turn. Announce to your child that you are going to hide one of his new shoes. Let him see you hide it under the couch and invite him to find it. Your child will enjoy "discovering" the shoe and will delight in hiding one of yours and watching you hunt for it.
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really helpful website for a mother. I liked it.
