6 Ideas to Try Right Now
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#1·5–10 min
Dance Party
🛒Materials: None (just music)
- 1Play your child's favorite upbeat song.
- 2Dance together in the living room.
- 3Pause the music randomly and yell 'Freeze!'
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#2·10–15 min
Pillow Mountain Climber
🛒Materials: Sofa cushions, pillows
- 1Pile sofa cushions and pillows on a soft carpeted floor.
- 2Let your child climb over, jump on, or burrow into the pile.
- 3Encourage crawling and balancing.
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#3·10–15 min
Toy Car Wash
🛒Materials: Plastic toy cars, tray of soapy water, toothbrush
- 1Fill a shallow tray with warm soapy water.
- 2Give your toddler plastic toy cars and a toothbrush.
- 3Let them scrub the cars clean.
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#4·10–15 min
Balloon Tapping
🛒Materials: Balloon, painter's tape
- 1Hang a balloon from a doorway at your toddler's head height.
- 2Show them how to tap it with their hand or a paper tube.
- 3Encourage them to reach and jump.
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#5·10–20 min
Tupperware Tower
🛒Materials: Plastic containers of different sizes
- 1Stack plastic containers from biggest to smallest.
- 2Let your toddler knock them over — they love it!
- 3Help them rebuild and try stacking themselves.
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The 'knock down' phase is just as developmental as the building phase.
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#6·15–20 min
Water Tray Pouring
🛒Materials: Shallow tray, cups, small jug of water
- 1Put a towel on the floor and set a shallow tray on it.
- 2Fill one cup with a little water and give a smaller cup.
- 3Let your toddler pour back and forth freely.
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Toddlers can pour for 20+ minutes. It builds fine motor skills.
