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‘The days are long, but the years are short.’ – sounds familiar, right? It’s cliché, but that’s why it’s so true.
From getting pregnant to your baby’s first birthday, time seems just like a blink of an eye. Boom! You no longer have a baby. You have yourself a cute little toddler. Everything gets funnier and funnier!
From witnessing those unsure first steps to trying to jump and run and everything in between. Playtime gets better and better and we as moms (or dads) have to get waaaay more creative!.. As it seems like the little ones lose interest quite quickly!
The market is flooded with literally everything for kids nowadays. So how and what to choose in order to be able to play with your child while at the same time help them with their development and imagination? Search no more! Here’s your guide with ideas for 5 toys to help your toddler’s development and boost their imagination.
Let’s just start easy!
- This one is for all the parents that want to make sure they won’t need to research any toys no more in order to help their baby’s development and will have the best, most appropriate choice for their toddler’s age – The play kit that arrives at your home every few months and consists of the best toys for your little one. Montessori playtime made easy. The well known brand Lovevery’s playkits.
The coolest part is that they have play kits even for newborns, so no particular period that you should wait in order to subscribe to them. Pretty amazing, huh?!
Next on the list on how to help your toddler’s development
2. – here comes a personal favourite. Actually, quite sure it’s any kid’s favourite to be honest! A timeless choice, suitable for both girls and boys, that your kid can play with for years to come – a pretend kitchen.
Babies love to copy their parents and to do ‘grown up’ things. Every day they see you cook, tidy up, clean, etc. and they try to ‘help out’ as much as they can haha! Let’s just not mention the mess afterwards, shall we?!
So, no better choice than a pretend kitchen to make them really happy and boost their imagination, while they cook and sort everything out in the tiny little drawers with their tiny little hands. Not to mention their love for opening and closing doors and cabinets! Or stirring the pot! That will be a dream come true for them! A great idea even for a Christmas or a Birthday present.
Time for suggestion number 3, fellow parents!
- Keeping the pretend play strong. With this one, there will be a separate option for boys and for girls. So, let’s lift the curtains!
A great toy for your little man would be a work bench. They just adore fixing stuff, playing with hammers, scissors and all kinds of tools. Make sure you pick a wooden one as this one for example, since it is way better quality wise and more stable / safer for your toddler to lean on while standing up.
Risking to repeat myself here, but hey… it’s worth it.. no doubt that this is a toy to play with for years!
Speaking of repeating myself, let’s not forget the little ladies here. As mentioned above, there is an option for them as well in here – a cute wooden makeup set. Little girlies love to copy mommy even more and watching you put makeup on and getting ready for the day will be even more entertaining now, having their own makeup set to play with! Hopefully not to ruin your actual stuff too, right?! Well, they probably will though, but it’s worth the try.
- Okay, okay, let’s face it – no matter how cool their toys are, the little bugs can’t seem to stay put at one place longer than a few minutes in the best-case scenario! Especially after they start walking… that’s it! Toddler explorer mode activated. They love to climb, roll, crawl, squat and all in between.
So, here is the next one on the list about how to help your toddler’s development:
Since I obviously cannot keep it short… and I love to give you guys some options to choose from, I’ll give you two here again. During the cooler days when it’s raining / snowing and when it’s not possible to stay outside longer and play, it is always good to have a way to help your little one to use up their never-ending energy.
If you have space at home, a great idea is to buy a Montessori pickler / climber for little bubba. There are different sets and you can start small to see how they like it and add more parts like a slide (etc.) with time to make it more challenging. Pretty sure it will be super fun and will keep your little love busy for hours.
Promised I’d give you another option here, didn’t I?! Here it is! If you are a bit scared from the wooden climber as your toddler loves a challenge and doesn’t think much about safety as probably all of them do haha, or you simply don’t have enough space at home for that, a perfect alternative is a Soft play steps and slide set. Again – different combos here where you can add more with time, like a ball pit etc. Definitely an activity your child will love!
Here comes the last little idea I’ve prepared for you, friends!
- Kid’s curiosity is endless, especially since everything around them is new and interesting to explore. It’s impressive how they remember little things that you’ve said or done and caught their attention. Like the sounds animals do for example. Babies love to experiment and copy what you’ve shown them.
This is why in my opinion is better not only to read books together and look at the pictures, but to have actual toys as example too, so they can start recognising different things easier.
A lovely set of toys that babies enjoy are exactly Animal figures.Realistically looking and really helping out with boosting your toddler’s imagination and developing a bond and love for our animal friends.
One more idea for figures toys is Public figures / professions that will help your little one learn about the different types of occupation and a great way to practice role play.
Time to draw the line here for now, but promise I’ll give you plenty more play ideas in other articles. As a matter of fact hurry up and check this one.
Today’s one was all about the 5 ways to help your toddler’s development and boost their imagination.
Which one was your favourite? I’d love to hear! Xo xo
