ENERGETIC EXPLORERS

Do you have an energetic toddler on your hands? From the age of two years to about three and a half, every moment for this age group is seen as an opportunity to investigate and explore. They can be exhausting, but here’s some tips on how to keep them stimulated:

Time to play

Storytelling is fun with an energetic explorer. Use puppets or simple dress ups to make a favorite story come to life, and involve your child in the telling. Get them stomping like a giant, or baking bread like the Little Red Hen. It helps your child becomes more familiar with the sequence and rhythm of the story. Build a garden with your explorer. Even a very small space can be utilized to grow your own strawberries, tomatoes or beans. There are plenty opportunities to get a bit grubby, talk science and them get them eating some healthy home-grown fare.

Best toys

First card games such as snap and memory can be introduced at this stage. Be prepared to start off slowly, and let them win a few times – but don’t be tempted to always let them win. Losing gracefully is a very important skill to learn! Books with great story lines are good at this stage -- look for books with plenty of rhythm and rhyme. Duple and construction sets are great for budding designers. Use a range of different building materials to create cities or farms for other toys.

By the end of this stage most children will:

Have developed a strong sense of what is wrong and right. Have a strong need for approval and will often gravitate towards adults instead of other children. However they will also have become skilled in imaginative play, and will spend long periods of time acting out a favorite character from a book or DVD. Be able to follow around three instructions at a time, and enjoy helping out by having their own jobs to do such as setting the table or putting away their socks. Want to know “why?” as they try to understand everything and anything.