Learning Through Play: Tips for Parents of Toddlers

The Link Between Learning and Play

Often, young children learn through play. Healthline explains that through play, children develop a foundation for problem-solving and exploring. It teaches kids a healthy outlet for creativity, stress, and experimentation. Play even helps kids learn how to communicate and interact with others! Play can also help your kids develop their fine motor skills, Through pretend play – like using dolls or dressing up – children learn about themselves and the power of language. Pretend play can even help with potty training!

Make Time for Play

As a working parent, how do you find time to play with your kids? If you have a business to run, juggling your family and your professional pursuits gets even more difficult. Make sure you carve out time for play. Sit down and block out time in your schedule specifically for your kids, just as you would for a client meeting. Beyond this, look for opportunities to get your kids involved in whatever it is you need to do. For example, you could build a toddler cleaning kit with kid-sized cleaning supplies so your children can mimic you as you clean the house.

How Kids Learn to Play

As children grow up, they progress through different stages of play development. Pathways.org notes that children younger than two years old are most interested in playing alone. Around the age of two, children begin to watch others play and become interested in playing alongside others. It isn’t until children reach the age of three and four that they start interacting with others in play. Toddlers are still learning to meet their own needs and don’t yet have an understanding of sharing, borrowing, and lending. This is why parents should avoid forcing toddlers to share or play with other children. Sit back and let your children play freely and finish playing when they feel satisfied. This is an excellent practice in self-awareness and self-regulation.

Incorporating Flashcards

Teaching toddlers with flashcards is a fun and interactive way to boost their early learning skills, from vocabulary and colors to numbers and shapes. Using bright images and simple words helps reinforce concepts through repetition, making learning more engaging. To create personalized sets, you can use a flashcard maker platform to design cards tailored to your child's interests and developmental stage, ensuring a more effective and enjoyable learning experience.

Encouraging Different Types of Play

Children engage in several different types of play. Each form of play is important for supporting your child’s development, so try to encourage different types. For example, physical play involves movement and can help strengthen the body and develop those motor skills. You can help your kids engage in physical play by going outside or taking them to a playground. Dramatic play, on the other hand, involves pretending and acting out narratives. Games of dress-up are great for encouraging this type of play.

Sensory play is particularly important for toddlers. While all forms of play involve some sensory input, playing with different textures, colors, and sounds is a great way to support your child’s sensory abilities. Have fun exploring the various types of play with your kids. You might just learn something yourself!

All kids learn through play. By encouraging your toddler to engage in various types of play, you’re supporting their development in many important areas. Carve out time to play with your kids, understand how children of different ages play differently, and try to see play as a learning activity in itself. Through play, your children will learn how to interact with the world around them and develop skills that will stick with them for life!

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Written by Laura Pearson, Co-Creator of Edutude.net