Being curious, full of life and extremely antsy are all traits of a toddler, most parents will agree.  Lots of times toddlers are occupied with television or toys while parents work or enjoy quiet time of their own while reading or enjoying each other’s company.  The issue with this kind of activity is that too much television and activity that has no direction can really hurt our children in the long run.  After all, television and down time that isn’t filled with learning experiences can actually aid in ADD and other mental hardships as children grow older.  Activities for toddlers don’t have to be elaborate when it comes to putting something together.

You should be able to come up with simple, fun activities for your toddlers to enjoy while teaching them important life skills such as reading, simple math and problem solving.  Flash cards, story time and art sessions are all good activities for toddlers but going a step further, these activities can be spruced up a bit to make them even more fun!  For example, consider using flash cards with different numbers of animals on them so your children can learn to count as well as learn their animals names and how to actually spell them.  There’s nothing like seeing your toddler have fun while learning so many things at the same time.

A very important point to keep in mind is that forcing new activities on toddlers can prove too hard for them.  Moving along slowly is the best way for children to feel comfortable when learning new skills that they will take with them in life.  It is recommended that you limit your activities for toddlers to no more than 3 new activities per week.  This is important because it can really help your toddler get the most out of the learning activities you do introduce.

Assuming kids aren’t finding the activities they’re introduced to hard or boring, there is sure to be structure, fun and improvement as time goes on.  This can really help to prepare them for school and even to exceed expectations once your toddler starts kindergarten.  After all is said and done the whole point of activities for toddlers is to teach them something new while giving them something to do that’s fun, rewarding and beneficial for the entire family.

Every toddlers love to play games, and particularly they always wishes to have one-on-one quality time with their parents.  Easy games provide greater stimulations for toddlers and assists in a growth of a child by developmentally appropriate activities.  This article gives some easy toddler games that keep the toddlers engaged and also this gives developmental growth for young toddlers.

The first simple game is where the baby is and this is very familiar for everyone, especially suitable for young toddlers.  When a toddler is watching the parents, hide a small baby doll under some clothes, or blankets, or under a pillow, or behind any objects.  Ask the toddlers where the baby went and watch the excitement when the baby finds the baby doll with great happiness.   This game makes the toddler very happy with the feeling of success as they find the doll each time.

Babies also love to make some noises, particularly when they are using some instruments which are not a musical instrument.  Gather some old oatmeal food boxes or any other food containers and keep it around the toddlers in the circle form, also parents can make use of old pots and pans and place it inverted around the toddlers.  Make the young toddlers to use his/her hands or any wooden spoons to make some noise by banging on the pans or containers.  This game is the great activity for the toddlers and this makes them very busy while making dinner.

Easy bowling games can be prepared with empty bottles, and this can be made by adding 3 or 4 empty bottles and give a large ball to the toddler.  Make the toddler to use this ball on how to hit the empty bottles and how to move the ball towards the bottles, and this is a very enjoyable game for toddlers to watch the bottles bowl over.  Make a home-made cave, and hiding out in a do-it-yourself cave, especially with their parents, can be a lot of excitement for them.  The home-made cave can be done by throwing a blanket over any kitchen table or push two small couches together and cover it with a blanket or sheet, and thus cave is made.  Young toddlers always love to express themselves, just turn on any fast music or track, and get down on the knees and dance with the child, because expensive toys cannot bring such a enjoyment in the toddlers face.

Every child goes through periods of rapid development in their life that parents should be aware of so that they know to expect.  There’s the period where they transition from a baby to a toddler during which they go from a tiny infant into a baby that’s capable of getting into a whole mess of things.  And the third is when they are teenagers who go through radical body changes that help determine who they are as an adult.  This is one of the periods that is filled with the most growth for children so it makes sense that it’s often one of the most challenging for parents who don’t know what to expect the toddler years.

A lot happens before a child turns two, in fact, in terms of both physical development and mental development.  By 14 months, a child can walk well on its own, crawl upstairs, drink from a cup and use a spoon and can build things composed of two blocks as opposed to one.  By 15 months, they can use 10-15 words, say no and understand its context and can indicate when their diaper is wet.  By 18 months they can walk backwards and sideways and run well though they fall easily; they can climb stairs and furniture; they can attempt to draw straight lines; they can use phrases composed of both adjectives and nouns and they also begin throwing tantrums.

Then they hit 2 and the real fun beings in terms of what to expect the toddler years this is when the talking and interacting with people really starts.  Children typically weigh 24 pounds, are around 30 inches tall and they have 12 of their 20 total temporary teeth (by 2 ¬Ω they will have acquired the full set).  Their motor skills dramatically improve to the point where they can walk upstairs on their feet while holding the railing; they can build objects using multiple blocks; they can control spoons and cups very well on their own and they can become toilet trained during the day.  Their vocabulary also expands to include about 350 words and they are able to follow simply commands and even help dress and undress themselves.  They also begin to realize that they are separate people although other children are still just objects to them which is why the everything is mine phase starts.

Between two and three there are many more jumps that you should know so you know what to expect the toddler years.  From two to three, children become more independent and start to develop true personalities.  They are able to anticipate certain routines in schedules and their need for naps starts to gradually decrease.  They being playing with their toys in imaginative ways and completing puzzles as well.  The toddler years are the time when a child’s personality really becomes clear to their parents.

Toddlers enjoy watching TV and they can easily get addicted to it if their viewing time is not monitored every day.  Recognized children experts say that a toddler of over two years should not watch more than an hour or two of TV on any day.  For those below the age of two, no TV should be allowed for them.  When a child is below two, their brain is not mature enough to understand TV movements because they are too fast and their brain shifts to autopilot.  However, most parents use TV as a form of babysitter and they want to make them happy while they carry on their daily activities.  This makes the average time toddlers spend watching TV to about four or five hours every day.  Parents should teach their children when they are still young not to watch too much TV as opposed to weaning them when they are already used to the system.

There are several ways that parents can use the TV to educate their children as opposed to watching whatever they find on TV.  Whatever they watch should be educational and toddlers should learn from it.  It is important to exercise discipline and to switch off the TV as soon as the program the toddler was watching is over.  This process can be made easier when a parent warns the toddler a few minutes before the program ends that they are going to switch off the TV because the program is over.  It is also important to have a defined schedule of what time the TV is switched on and when it will be off.  Programs can be recorded for later because sometimes the programs that a parent wants their toddler to watch air at a time that is not scheduled for watching TV.

In order for a toddler to understand the programs that they are watching, the programs need to be slow-paced and calm.  All forms of violence should be avoided because toddlers will emulate what they see on TV and take it out on others.  Scary movies and those with an adult theme should also be avoided at all costs.  Toddler TV should comprise of programs that require a toddler to move around or dance and should also prompt the child to repeat words or count numbers.  It is important for a toddler to feel that their parents are interested in what they are watching and they can do this by watching TV with them even if they are doing other activities.

Showing love and support to a toddler is very important when disciplining a toddler and this makes the whole process very difficult for parents.  To make it easier, parents should structure the rules so that the toddlers understand them and do not find them too difficult to follow.  Parents will set certain limits and most toddlers will push their way to see just how much they can get away with.  Parents should therefore be careful not to cave in to their toddlers‚Äô demands.  They should do this with love and strictness understanding that the toddler will cry and fuss when they cannot do what they want to do.   Before implementing any form of disciplinary measure, a parent should know and understand their child.   The toddler should trust the parent enough to allow them to set limits to what they can do so that they can feel safe in their presence.

Time out is the most common form of discipline because it does not entail too much.   Toddlers will do whatever it takes not to get another time out because they feel bad when they are made to sit in a corner alone.  To calculate how long a toddler should sit alone, take a minute for every year they have in age.  Temper tantrums is another way children like to take control of situations and parents should learn how to ignore them and toddlers will stop throwing them.  Parents should set limits and show consistency with them and this can be used as another disciplinary measure for toddlers.  Toddlers also like being praised for the good things they do and parents should create an environment where the child hears some positive reinforcement as well.

Toddlers should be disciplined regardless of where they are even when out of the house.  Therefore, if a toddler does something wrong when they are at the store, discipline should not be left to the time they get home.   This is mainly because they need to relate their bad actions with the punishment and they may not do that if they are punished hours later.  Toddlers should also be punished away from their friends or other people so that their self esteem does not get compromised.  It is very important to get the correct forms of discipline for toddlers because it is at this formative stage that their characters are set and the foundation lay.