Sitting a toddler down to discuss colors or shapes, manners or letters is just not something that makes sense nor would they sit long enough to hear what you have to share with them. It would be a developmentally inappropriate task and failure would make you feel defeated. But, we all have that desire for our children to learn, to learn well, and to excel. That is why I have made it easy for you. There are 5 things I do with my toddler to help her learn without stressing about teaching her the basics.
- COUNT walking up the stairs. I simply count each step as we go up and down them. We count how many times we bounce a ball, how many bubbles we can blow, how many hops we do, how many Cheerios are on the high chair tray, etc. ALWAYS counting out loud and consistently doing so.
- TALK through your day. As you navigate the day, narrate it for your child. An example of this would be…”I’m going to make us lunch now. I thought about yogurt and grapes but would you prefer strawberries instead? Strawberries are red…did you know that cherries and tomatoes are also red? I like all of those fruits and vegetables.”
- SING. We sing the ABC’s, 1-2Buckle My Shoe, Nursery Rhymes, etc. There is constant chatter and singing in my home making it is breeding ground for vocabulary development.
- READ to your child. I can’t express this enough. We are CONSTANTLY reading books, talking about books, going to storytime at the library, etc. You can’t read to your toddler (or child for that matter) enough.
- SPEND TIME TOGETHER…as much uninterrupted time you can possibly spend together. It is truly beautiful when you can just be a mommy or daddy to your child. Put the phone down, talk with one another, set boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior and enjoy the age your child is at (at that very moment).
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