Your Toddler is a Mover

This is a part of a series of articles based on the book How to Maximize Your Childs Learning Ability by Dr. Lauren Bradway and Barbara Albers Hill In this articleEnhancing existing mover skillsDeveloping looker skills in mover toddlersDeveloping listener skills in mover toddlersEnhancing existing mover skills There are several ways in which you can develop your toddlers gross motor skills. Make sure that she does plenty of physical activity. Take her swimming/paddling and to the park to play on the swings. Buy her a sponge ball that she can throw, catch and kick. Help your toddler climb up and down staircases one step and one foot at a time. Buy her a toy wagon that she can pull along and take her favourite stuffed toy for a stroll. Give her a toy bucket, rake and shovel to play with in the garden or sandpit. Your toddler will also enjoy riding a tricycle with extra wheels for support. You could put your toddler into a gymnastics class for children her age if there is one in your neighbourhood. Give her cardboard shoeboxes that she can use as building blocks. There should be plenty of physical contact between you and your child. So hold her, hug her, stroke her and hug her as much as possible. Developing looker skills in mover toddlers The aim is to make your toddler more receptive to visual stimulation and to enhance her ability to visualize. You can teach her to be more observant. Look at an object together for a few minutes and put it away. Then you and your toddler should take turns describing it. Take her for an outing and point out new sights and various other details to her. Make your child do a little exercise to rest her eyes. She should cup the palms of her hands over her eyes so that any light is blocked and then close her eyes for about ten seconds. Another game will help your toddler to focus. Roll a lightweight ball to each other and ask her to keep her eyes on the ball. Put off the lights and tell your toddler a story in the dark. This will help her to imagine better. You can also play shop with her using pretend money and pretend objects in order to build her visualizing skills. Give her glue sticks, large crayons, old bits of paper and felt, plasticine, and washable markers so that she can indulge her creativity through craft. Developing listener skills in mover toddlers The basic aim of these activities is to encourage your toddlers conversational and listening abilities. Activities such as playing with hand puppets, make-believe tea parties, and playing shop with your toddler fulfil this objective. When speaking to your toddler, speak loudly, enunciate your words and keep your sentences short and simple. If your toddler mispronounces a word, repeat what she has said pronouncing the word correctly. Dont make television a habit. Read aloud to your toddler, tell her stories and make her listen to songs. Play hide- and-seek with your child at home where she has to find you following the sound of your voice. Hide a special treat somewhere in the house and give your child verbal directions to find it. Pop-up, scratch-and-sniff, and lift-and-look books help to make story-telling come alive for your toddler. Build your childs vocabulary by organizing special outings to new places like the zoo, the grocery store, and the park.

This is a part of a series of articles based on the book 'How to Maximize Your Child's Learning Ability' by Dr. Lauren Bradway and Barbara Albers Hill

Enhancing existing mover skills

There are several ways in which you can develop your toddler's gross motor skills. Make sure that she does plenty of physical activity. Take her swimming/paddling and to the park to play on the swings. Buy her a sponge ball that she can throw, catch and kick. Help your toddler climb up and down staircases one step and one foot at a time. Buy her a toy wagon that she can pull along and take her favourite stuffed toy for a stroll. Give her a toy bucket, rake and shovel to play with in the garden or sandpit. Your toddler will also enjoy riding a tricycle with extra wheels for support. You could put your toddler into a gymnastics class for children her age if there is one in your neighbourhood. Give her cardboard shoeboxes that she can use as building blocks. There should be plenty of physical contact between you and your child. So hold her, hug her, stroke her and hug her as much as possible.

Developing looker skills in mover toddlers

The aim is to make your toddler more receptive to visual stimulation and to enhance her ability to visualize. You can teach her to be more observant. Look at an object together for a few minutes and put it away. Then you and your toddler should take turns describing it. Take her for an outing and point out new sights and various other details to her. Make your child do a little exercise to rest her eyes. She should cup the palms of her hands over her eyes so that any light is blocked and then close her eyes for about ten seconds. Another game will help your toddler to focus. Roll a lightweight ball to each other and ask her to keep her eyes on the ball. Put off the lights and tell your toddler a story in the dark. This will help her to imagine better. You can also play shop with her using pretend money and pretend objects in order to build her visualizing skills. Give her glue sticks, large crayons, old bits of paper and felt, plasticine, and washable markers so that she can indulge her creativity through craft.

Developing listener skills in mover toddlers

The basic aim of these activities is to encourage your toddler's conversational and listening abilities. Activities such as playing with hand puppets, make-believe tea parties, and playing shop with your toddler fulfil this objective. When speaking to your toddler, speak loudly, enunciate your words and keep your sentences short and simple. If your toddler mispronounces a word, repeat what she has said pronouncing the word correctly. Don't make television a habit. Read aloud to your toddler, tell her stories and make her listen to songs. Play hide- and-seek with your child at home where she has to find you following the sound of your voice. Hide a special treat somewhere in the house and give your child verbal directions to find it. Pop-up, scratch-and-sniff, and lift-and-look books help to make story-telling come alive for your toddler. Build your child's vocabulary by organizing special outings to new places like the zoo, the grocery store, and the park.