Entertaining 2-3 year olds

The start of the toddler years…

Every year, kids get smarter and start to pick up on things on a daily basis.  By developing their motor skills and exerting tons of energy, kids this age can benefit from so many activities.  It is noticeable that kids at this age love to pretend.  By keeping this in mind, here are some suggested activities for your child.

Free play

Although this may seem like a disaster waiting to happen, letting kids do their own thing can be very liberating and fun at the same time.  Just be sure that there are plenty of toys around that they can choose from.  By having the right amount of balls, blocks, dolls and toy cars around, a little boy or girl will play and play until he or she can’t anymore.

Grocery shopping

Look through your pantry and pull out items that come in boxes, such as cereal.  Pretend that you and your child are in a market.  You can set up a table like a checkout counter and also use old shopping bags as well.

Dress-up

This may seem like more of a little girl’s activity, but boys can play dress up as well.  Dressing up can open up a child’s imagination.  Girls can put on fancy slippers and dresses and pretend that they are princesses.  Boys can put on a cowboy hat and boots and pretend that they are cowboys from the West.

Animal train

For kids who own lots of stuffed animals, this can be really fun.  Have your child collect all of his or her stuffed animals.  Get a box that has handles and attach a small rope pull handle.  Next put all of the animals in the box.  Your child can parade around the living room with the animal train.  Occasionally, your child can make stops to let one of the stuffed animals out.

Sock toss

Think of this game as toddler basketball.  Have your child roll up his or her socks into balls.  Set out a basket in the middle of the living room and have your toddler “shoot” with socks.

Wrapping and unwrapping

Think of this as a way to reuse old tissue paper.  Cut out tissue paper into various sizes.  Take one your child’s toys and place it in the middle of one of the tissue paper pieces.  Next have your child bring up the sides of the paper and twist it at the top.  You can do this with different types of toys.  Your child can also unwrap the toys as if he or she was opening a new gift.

Bowling with soda bottles

Set up three to ten empty plastic soda bottles.  Get one of your child’s play balls and have him or her go bowling.  See how many “pins” will get knocked down!

Fun with hats

Collect all of the hats in the house.  These can be baseball caps, cowboy hats or anything in between.  Have your child identify which is the largest, smallest, or most colorful.