Tips to keep your little one engaged!!

As mums we are always on the look out for activities that keep our children engaged and also learn at the same time. 

I personally feel there is immense pressure on kids in terms of who is learning what and what skills they display. The reason I choose the word display is because as soon as your child is toddler and is able to say a few words and do a few tricks, we want our child to master it asap.

Parents should go easy in focusing on their child’s development or rather advancement. Each child learns and grows at his/her own pace. Yes, we must promote healthy learning, we must introduce them to activities that broaden their spectrum of learning, however never force your child to learn an activity because you think so.

I have put down a list of few activities that have been tried and tested with my super active kid. They sure have kept him busy and helped him learn too.

• Color Sorting – Since my son loves playing with the balls, I bought him a few different colored plastic balls and helped him toss them in a bucket one by one. This helped him identify the color and also helped him develop a grip on things. It was a cool way to help us both spend some fun time together.

 

• Stickers and Sticking – This can get a little messy but I love it.  I colored some old newspapers with different colors .I drew some basic images of animals and cartoon.We then, stuck these colored papers into the drawn images. You can simply draw shapes too and take printouts of the images too. You can even use ready made stickers and let your child decorate a small corner or cupboard in your house.

 

• Kitchen Spoons and Music – Now this one can be a little too noisy for your neighbors however we love our little mad play time. Out come out the wooden, smooth spoons and bowls and we create music while mommy is busy whipping up a meal.This helps your child with motor skills and also getting used to noise. Its almost as good as self play which should be introduced to kids.

 

• Pom-Poms and Beads – Color sorting pom-poms is a fun activity too. Sorting of beads should be done under observation as kids tend to put things in their mouth.You can use this an activity to help them count numbers and identify colors.

 

• Cereal and Bean Sorting – Babies usually love the kitchen arena, they find it fascinating. We usually count and sort beans and cereals while trying to finish a meal or just for some fun play time.

 

• Painting – The most exciting time is with colors and paints. Spread out a large newspaper, put on some dark colored clothes and let you kid go splash-splash with the paints.Getting messy is a good way to learn and have fun.

There are a lot of DIY activities available on Pinterest and YouTube that you can use to engage your child. You can use home items like rice, lentils, beans, empty cereal boxes, empty tissue rolls, pencils, colored threads, buttons etc. to create fun and educational games for kids.

Here are links for some of my go-to activities 

toddler activities , craft ideas for toddlers and sensory activities for kids.

Happy making,playing and having fun with your kids. Some of these activities are great to keep yourself busy too!!