Toddler Activities

Toddlers Are Artists (?)

Dear Dr. Julia,

I'm a stay at home mom and my son is almost two years old. This is an age where I don't really know what to do with him. He doesn't sit still for that long and I can't keep his attention for very long either.

What are some toddler activities that I can or should be doing with him?

Dear Toddler's Mommy,

Aside from the normal, everyday play and learn time that we all know that you do with small children,
you know...

Drawing
Singing
Dancing
Reading
Pat-a-Cake

and blah, blah, blah - there's also just the stuff that you do everyday. These are things that you can share with him too.

When you're cleaning, give him a rag to "dust" with. When you're doing laundry, let him "fold" some socks. When you're cooking, let him "toss" the salad.

Whatever it is that YOU do, let (and have) HIM do it too!

In essence, you're killing a few birds with one stone. Your baby is learning... learning to work, learning language, learning math, communication, and on and on.

Nothing is worse than a bored individual, no matter what the age, but toddlers and young children are even worse because of their actual desire to grow and learn and DO.

We know the adage, "all work and no play"? Even MORE true is ALL PLAY and no work - this is a surefire way to be extremely bored and discontent.

When you keep your toddler busy with a nice mixture of work and play, he will relish in his 15 to 30 minutes of alone time with the Tupperware and wooden spoon... and so will you!

Dr. J

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