Welcome to the official start of toddlerhood! An exciting yet sometimes terrifying milestone for most parents, but the ‘taby’ stage is one I’ve found to be most enjoyable. Taby is a term sometimes used to describe a child that isn’t a baby anymore but may not seem quite like a toddler in your eyes just yet. They may have only just started walking and talking, but soon enough, you will notice that they crave independence in almost all aspects of their lives – hello toddlerhood!
In my last blog I gave you some play ideas for babies aged between 9 to 12 months and now that my daughter has just turned two, I thought I would share some of our play from when she was one year old. Once again, I have split the ideas into age ranges, however let your observations of your child guide you on what activities may be appropriate and when.
12 – 15 months
If your child is anything like my daughter was at this age, they will love any activity involving posting! A fantastic toy that I think makes the perfect gift for a 1 year old is the Totli Box. It is a Montessori toy perfect for posting, pushing, pulling as well as cementing your child’s understanding of object permanence. While the Totli Box comes with coins, silks and balls, you could use many other open-ended toys with it as well.
One of my favourite open-ended toys is the Grapat Nins, Rings and Coins set. It can be used when your child is a baby (check out my last blog), toddler, preschooler and beyond. It’s one of those sets that never gets rotated out of our playroom because it’s always played with. At this age, I used the rings a lot in activities I set up for my daughter. Here’s three activities you could use with the Grapat rings:
1. Ring pull – grab an empty egg carton and cut slits in the base of each egg hole. Thread six different coloured ribbons through adjacent egg holes and tie corresponding coloured rings onto each end. This can be set up under a table or on a wall and is great for investigating cause (pull on one ring) and effect (the other ring moves).
2. Sticky wall – cut out a large rectangle of clear contact paper and tape it to the wall (sticky side out). Stick rings, popsicle sticks, feathers and any other suitable craft items you have handy onto the wall. Invite your taby to pull them off!
3. Ring stacking/ ring tree – Before your child attempts a conical stacker, you may wish to try a simpler version. Use the dowel from a stacking toy (or a paper towel holder will work just as well) and place a bowl of rings next to it. Once they have mastered this, you could try horizontal stacking using a mug tree or mini Christmas tree if you so happen to be in the festive season!
16 – 18 months
If you haven’t tried any sensory play yet, now is the perfect age to give it a go. There are lots of sensory bases you can use depending on whether your child is still mouthing. If they are mouthing, opt for edible sensory bases such as water, spaghetti, jelly or chia seeds. If they are not mouthing, you might want to try some calming sand. It is lavender scented and so calming to play with. I paired it with some Jellystone Designs Triblox for a simple scooping and pouring activity. Simple sensory play is best when it comes to this age.
At 16 months, I introduced crayons to my daughter. I held off for a while before offering them to her (I’m sure you’ve seen and heard the horror stories of crayons all over the walls like I had) but in hindsight, I had nothing to worry about! I decided to buy some Kitpas crayons with holders as they are less prone to breaking. They are so buttery smooth and can be used on glass windows as well as paper.
If you have a car obsessed toddler, then this one’s for you! Toddlers love exploring cause and effect and a great way to do this is place some cars (we love the Grimm’s convertibles) on a Wobbel board and watch them go back and forth. They will love pushing down on one side and seeing how the cars move.
19 – 21 months
One of my favourite go-to easy play ideas for this age is playdough. It is relatively mess-free and easy to set up and pack away. Toddlers love to simply poke and squish playdough with their fingers, but if you are wanting some tools to pair with it, I would suggest the following:
- Stampers – we love the ones from the Jellystone Balloon Colour Sorter as they have a handle and are easy for young toddlers to hold. They have animal prints on the bottom of each colour.
- Wooden nails – poking and removing from the playdough is a great workout for little fingers
- Mini animal figurines – stick into the playdough and investigate the footprint left behind
Animal figurines are a great toy to add to your collection if you don’t already own some. They can be used in playdough, sensory play, small world play and matching activities. I’d recommend starting with a farm set as most early animal noises your toddler will learn will be from farm animals (moo, baa, quack, etc.). An activity my daughter loved at this age was matching animals to pictures. The Two Little Ducklings Animal Sound flashcards pair really well with the CollectA mini farm tube. If you own a Chameleon Reader, you could also add an auditory element to this activity by recording the animal noise on each card.
Another way you can use these flashcards is for a posting activity. Cut a slot in the top of a cardboard box and have your toddler post the cards into the box. Encourage them to say the animal noise as they post each card.
22 – 24 months
Toddlers start to recognise colours as early as 18 months, but it wasn’t until 22 months, my daughter started taking an interest. The Grapat set mentioned earlier (Nins, Rings and Coins) is fantastic for teaching colours to your child. We started with matching the Nins to the Mates using the three primary colours then moved onto all six colours. Once they have mastered this, you can start to do some colour sorting activities with the rings and coins too.
Another resource that is great for colour sorting is the Grapat mandala sets (under supervision due to small parts). A favourite of mine is the Rainbow Coloured Eggs because they come with the six colours in more than one shade. A simple activity I set up was to cut out some coloured paper and set one shade of each egg into a bowl. To make it harder, present both shades of the colour into the bowl for your toddler to sort. If you'd like even more colour matching ideas, check out this blog.
As your child approaches two, you may wish to introduce two-piece puzzles. I would recommend starting with an Orchard Toys Heads and Tails puzzle as they don’t require your child to connect the pieces together. My daughter loved matching her mini farm animals (mentioned earlier) to each completed picture after she had completed the puzzles.
Last but not least, is an idea that comes from The Play Card Taby deck. If you have celebrated your just turned two year old’s birthday with a party, don’t throw out those balloons! Pair them with a sheet of stickers and encourage them to place the stickers onto the balloon – I can guarantee that they will play with this for ages, giving you enough time to finally drink that hot cup of coffee.
Liz (@playinginstyle) x