At around twelve months your toddler's naps have dwindled. To top it off, your child has become more mobile. After feedings and diaper changes there may be chunks of empty time in your toddler's day. Finding activities to entertain your one-year old can be difficult. Luckily, most of the groundwork has been done for you.
One-Year Old Growth and Development
According to Viki Lovine in The Girlfriends Guide to Toddlers [The Berkeley Publishing Group 1999], the toddler years are the ages of one to three. However, every toddler develops differently. Activities appropriate for a sixteen-month old or two year old may not work for your one-year old (for two-year old activities see: Activities for Your Two-Year Old).
The article "Age-Appropriate Skills and Activities (Age 1 Year)" from the Parenthood website says one-year olds are:
- Mobile. Either sitting up on their own, crawling or even walking.
- Responsive. Responds to their names or simple requests.
- Communicative. Make silly noises or says simple words.
- Practicing Fine Motor Skills. This includes pinching or squeezing.
Understanding your child's skills is important for finding the right activities.
Long Lasting Activities
The hardest part of entertaining your twelve-month toddler is how short a time each activity lasts. If you are looking at your clock trying to fill thirty minutes try:
- Park Play. One-year olds love to move around. Don't limit yourself to your neighborhood park. Look for a park with lots of grass, shady areas for hot days, baby swings and small sized playground equipment.
- Flash Cards. At twelve-months, toddlers are developing language skills. Find flashcards made of cardboard (similar to baby board books) with words on one side and shapes or animals on the other. Describe the words and the pictures.
- Pick Up. Take out a few plastic containers and some o shaped cereal bits and let your child practice putting the cereal into the containers. This also makes a great snack! Or, give him a pile of clothes and a laundry basket.
- Tub Time. For extra fun use foamy bubbles. Try soap crayons made especially for bathtub use. You can purchase letters and numbers to stick to the wall of the bathtub. Afterwards, play a game of pick up. Let your child help put away all the bath toys.
- Story Hour. Take your one-year old to your local library for story hour. Most libraries have age specific times. Story times usually involve music, dancing and other forms of play. Not only is it free, but your child has time to interact with kid in his age group and you can meet other parents of one-year olds!
Extra Entertainment Ideas
Entertaining your one-year old isn't always easy. The activities above are geared towards your twelve-month olds developmental abilities and are meant to last longer than just a few minutes. But what about when you need to make dinner or return a phone call?
Try these quick and easy activities:
- Play a book on tape. Let your toddler play with the book while the tape plays.
- Pick a age appropriate online activity.
- Give your child a shape sorter to play with.
Activities for Your One-Year Old
Soon enough your one-year old will be ready for those older toddler activites. Until then, understanding your child's skills and abilities is key to entertaining your young toddler. At the very minimum, activities and play that encourage language development, mobility and fine motor skills should motivate responsive and interactive playtime.
 |
