Every other child you see today would either be having a tablet or some kind of smartphone in front of him. Although it is fine to an extent, overexposure to smartphones will make your young one too dependent on these devices. A better way to have the young one play independently is to plan certain activities for him or her which carry numerous benefits.
Importance of Activities for Toddlers
Before we move on, you should understand why having some form of activity at such a young age is essential. Primarily, the young one is in a phase of exploring different things around him. Even if he is playing with his toys, there is a constant learning process in his mind. The observations and colorful items could be appealing and telling him what to do and what not to do. Those who are simply given a cell phone to enjoy do not learn all these things at the time when most of the other kids of their age are already doing so.
In addition to that, by constantly engaging in different types of hobbies, there is an improvement in the coordination and communication functions. Young ones tend to perform better and adapt to the situations around them easily once they are active in day-to-day activities or specific hobbies. Most importantly, many of these hobbies would not require you to engage with the child personally thereby encouraging independent play.
One of the main reasons why many expert doctors also consider activities important for toddlers is due to the psychological impact. The young ones may not have a specific personality but making the right one is under your control. If the child is constantly playing games on the phone, or simply watching videos on YouTube, he will eventually get very habitual about it. Unfortunately, many parents do not realize it until the time when the child grows up being addicted to the device. Changing these habits are not an easy task to do which is why parents must focus on having important activities for the children from a very young age.
Best Hobbies for Toddlers
Finger Paint
There are two most important things we are considering here. Firstly, the fact that kids usually put everything in their mouth and secondly, the fact that toddlers are very attracted towards the different types of colors. Many parents believe that having paints is not a good idea because the toddler can put the same finger in his mouth. However, this problem is solved with Edible Paint.
In case you don’t know about it, Edible Paint is something that is mostly used for the decoration of desserts such as cakes, pastries, jellies, custards, and other such desserts. You can easily buy it from the nearest store or even from Amazon.com. Different colors are usually segregated as different flavors too. Your toddler will be able to develop his sense of sight, taste, and touch more quickly with edible paints.
The best part about this hobby is that the young one will play independently for a long time. If he has multiple paints available to him, he would be making some random doodles around. Keep in mind that despite being on top of our recommendations, it is something that would create a lot of mess around.
If the little hero starts painting around the house on different things such as furniture, it would take a lot of your valuable time to clear it all out. For this reason, we suggest having edible paints in a confined space along with a board or paper so that the toddler does not feel the need to roam around and paint whatever he sees.
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Slate and Pen
If you think the first idea is too much work, you can go simple by buying a set of slate and its pen. Children are usually observing their surroundings especially at a young age and if you have a lot of work on your laptop or via writing, the child will find it interesting too. Therefore, we recommend getting him a slate and its pen to doodle around.
Even though the child might not be able to draw a proper item, it would be great to appreciate him throughout. There are different types of slates available. The traditional ones are chalk-based which are like small blackboards that can have chalk writing on them. However, we don’t recommend these because the children may put the chalk in their mouth which is not hygienic. In addition to that, excessive use of chalk may harm the skin to some extent as well.
On the other hand, there are modern slates as well which use a kind of temporary board marker along with a small duster on the end just like a pencil that comes with a rubber on the other end. These are relatively safer and won’t make as much mess as a chalk-based slate would. In addition to that, there are some slates that have a mini integrated screen. On this screen, the toddler can draw with only the pen that came with it. The best part is that it is entirely inkless but requires small cells to operate.
Toys
Without a doubt, an amazing activity to keep your child hooked for a long time is to have him introduced to different types of toys. The best advice we can give is to have those toys bought which are teaching the child something. For example, animal sets, doctor sets, army sets, and others could be the perfect playtime toy. For girls, this could be replaced with doll sets, doctor sets, kitchen sets, and many other things that generally attract the girls more than the boys.
The toddler will tend to play with these toys for long leaving you sufficient time to do other chores. Instead of something that is operated by batteries, try getting something that can be played with generally too. This way, you won’t have to worry about replacing the batteries every few days. Keep in mind that many toys you or your child finds appealing may not be safe for your child. You can check this usually on the backside of the box where it has a disclaimer about the minimum age.
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Animal Care
Many parents buy a newborn pet when they have a newborn baby to themselves. Pets like cats and dogs could become the perfect companions and enjoy each other. Most toddlers enjoy playing with the pets, giving them food, running around, and many other activities too. From time to time, these pets become a part of their daily lives. Most people get a dog because dogs are loyal pets that your child will enjoy too.
The best benefit? You don’t need to worry as long as your child is engaged with a dog. The two might be playing around and even if the child does get hurt or something, your dog will most likely be barking and alerting you regarding a problem. However, we do advise that you always have some kind of check to make sure everything is alright.
Getting the animals will also help your toddler learn how to take care of an animal. By giving it food, water, and taking care of the other needs, you will notice that the young one will try to be more responsible even when it is not his age to do so. In the long term, your child will develop a favorable attitude towards pets as well as have a more caring personality too.
Water Games
We don’t recommend having those wash games where you would have to leave your toddler unattended. For example, swimming pools. On the other hand, water games such as washing the toys could be a great activity for the young one. They will find it interesting to wash their toys once or twice a week. In addition to that, this hobby lets a toddler stay more hooked to his current toys rather than constantly asking you to buy a new one.
To make it more interesting, parents can join in and even let the young one use some soap or washing powder. Try filling up the sink with soapy water and then clean up the toys. From washing to rinsing, do everything and let your child learn that he needs to give proper care towards his toys. From action figures to dolls to cars, to many other things, washing can be a great activity that requires less supervision.
Conclusion
Many parents are worried about how to do work when they have a baby to care for but with certain hobbies, you can encourage the young one for independent play as well as make sure that he is able to enjoy himself easily. Performing the activities that we mentioned above will most likely be beneficial for the toddler’s upbringing as well contributing significantly positive impacts on the personality.