Tag Archives: Play-Doh

7 of the best toys for toddlers

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In my last post I shared with you 15 toys for baby’s first year. Babies are great and all, but now it’s time to talk about toddlers!

I’ll be honest, this post was a little trickier because kids’ abilities and interests become even more varied at this age, so it’s difficult to put together a definitive list of toys. So rather than share specific toys that toddlers may find appealing (that list would be waaaay too long), I’m going to share with you seven categories of toys that will be sure to entertain them while also challenging their skills and encouraging their development in areas such as fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, language comprehension & expression, social emotional, self-help, and sensory-motor.

As mentioned in my last post, you don’t always have to go out of your way to purchase toys. Many of the best ones can be found right in your own home. However, if what you’re looking for is some direction in your toy-buying, then you’ve come to the right place.

Here are seven of the best toys for toddlers (ages 1-3):

1. Toys that encourage problem-solving and fine motor skills.
Shape SorterProblem solving and fine motor skills often go hand-in-hand…literally. Kids — especially toddlers — learn through hands-on experience and need to be given the chance to figure things out on their own (within reason, of course) in order to promote higher level cognitive and motor skills later on. Some examples include shape sorters, large Duplo blocks, blocks for stacking and balancing, pegboards, basic puzzles with knobs (animals, shapes, vehicles, etc.), and play dough with accessories. Don’t forget that the development of fine motor skills also requires activities that will strengthen kids’ hands, so go for products that will challenge fine motor strength such as those that involve tongs, tweezers, or scissors for snipping (such as play dough scissors). Safety first: avoid choking hazards.

2. Toys that encourage interaction with vertical surfaces.
BañeraInteraction with vertical surfaces encourages kids’ wrists to bend upwards into extension, which is a pre-requisite for skilled handwriting (and typing). It also strengthens their shoulder girdle area, which is where the majority of their fine motor power will come from as their hands begin to develop the ability to scribble, color, and draw. After that, they will really need those strong arms to be able to support their rapidly advancing fine motor and writing skills. Depending on their age, consider toys such as play cubes, bath tub crayons, foam bath toys, dry-erase crayons (my absolute favorite!) magnets, or easels. Use chalkboard paint  or chalkboard contact paper to turn practically any vertical space into a chalk-friendly surface. Or easily make your own vertical surface simply by tipping a puzzle upright, taping coloring paper to the wall, or tilting a baking sheet vertically in order to encourage magnet play.

3. Toys that kids can ride.
Stalled TricycleForget the battery-powered Barbie/Spiderman Jeep. I’m talking about ride-on toys that allow kids to propel themselves. Remember those old-school Little Tikes cars that kids would sit in and use their feet to “drive” themselves? Those are awesome. So are other ride-on toys without pedals, tricycles, sit & spin toys, inflatable hopping horses, and scooter boards. (Click here for 10 fun scooter board activities such as body bowling!). Just as skilled hands require strong arms and shoulders to support them, they also require a strong and stable core. Strong hands are no good if they aren’t supported by a stable base, and ride-on toys such as these encourage the development of a strong, coordinated, stable base. Oh yeah, and they’re fun, too!

4. Toys that encourage both hands to work together.
Potato Head - March 2nd, 2011 Before kids can succeed in tasks such as skilled writing, coloring, or cutting, they need to be able to use both hands together well. Their hands can be doing the same thing at the same time (tossing and catching a ball, pushing and pulling pop beads), or one hand can be stabilizing an object while the other manipulates (velcro ball mitts, Potato Head, large lacing beads, wind-up toys, toys with zippers or snaps). Though there will be some overlap with the toys from Point One (that encourage problem-solving and fine motor skills), these toys are unique in that they pretty much require the use of two hands in order to successfully operate them, and they are just as important.

5. Toys that encourage pretend play.
Somebody's toy kitchenThe toddler years are the golden years of creativity. Embrace them! Toddlers can pretend with just about anything, even if it’s not meant to be a toy. If you’re looking to make a purchase, encourage imaginary play with goodies such as pretend food (especially the kind you can “cut” apart with a plastic knife), kitchen sets, dress-up clothes (don’t look too far!), baby dolls (for girls and boys), stuffed or plastic animals, and toddler-sized brooms, doll strollers, or shopping carts. Have a few basics on hand, and leave the rest to your child’s ever-growing imagination!

6. Toys that feel “weird”.
Yogurt = finger paint!Toddlers learn best when they can use all their senses. Additionally, it’s important for kiddos to be able to tolerate and interact with substances of all kinds of textures, from wet and slimy, to scratchy and bumpy, and everything in between. In general, the more toddlers can use their hands to interact with “weird” sensations early on, the more likely they will be able to tolerate various textures of foods in their mouths (thus alleviating some stress related to picky eating behaviors). Think about it: if you wouldn’t touch certain textures with your hands, why would you put them in your mouth? Some examples include playing with shaving or whipped cream, play dough, glow-in-the-dark slime, simple cornstarch/water mixture, flubber, cooked spaghetti, bucket of dry beans/pasta/rice (find hidden toys like puzzle pieces or lacing beads in them), (squeezable) sidewalk chalk, (edible) finger paint, bubble wrap, floam, cloud dough, and sand. Whew! Though these aren’t really “toys” per se, I really felt they needed to be included because of how important they are for kids’ developing bodies and brains. Buy them or make many of them yourself. Or better yet, have your toddler help you make them!

7. Books.
Kids and Reading It’s never too early to introduce children to books. Kids who are read to from an early age are more likely to become good readers and achieve academic success than those who aren’t read to on a regular basis, regardless of socioeconomic status. But it’s not enough to simply read books to kids. Little ones who become the most successful in reading and academics in late elementary school and beyond are the ones whose caregivers involved them in story time and made it interactive. Point out pictures and words, ask questions about what will happen next, clarify unfamiliar words to develop vocabulary, and check for understanding to develop comprehension. Look for engaging books that encourage rhythm, rhyming, repetition, matching, and/or identification of objects (animals, vehicles, body parts, shapes, colors, numbers, etc.). Give kids chances to improve their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills by allowing them to turn the pages one by one, and help their imagination run wild as you narrate the story with unique character voices. Just wait: by the time your toddler is three years old, she’ll probably be “reading” and performing many of her favorites stories for you!

For more toddler play ideas, check out The Toddler’s Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy. It’s a real treat.

I hope you keep these seven categories in mind and share them with others as you enjoy (or at least survive) the energetic, exhausting, imaginative toddler years!

[Update: Be sure to check out my post about 10 of the best toys and games for preschoolers!]

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[2nd edition] One tip for introducing scissors: Use playdough!

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This post was originally published here on Mama OT on April 28th as an introductory resource for caregivers. Yesterday, however, I had the honor of writing as a guest columnist for PediaStaff’s OT Corner blog, a website serving as a resource for pediatric therapists across the country. Below is the new and improved second edition. It contains even more ideas and resources than the original post, so I wanted to share it here so you all could benefit, too. Enjoy!

Have you ever tried to teach little ones how to use scissors? It’s really hard! They have to figure out how to orient their hand, divide up their fingers, open and close the crazy things, and hold the material they are supposed to cut. Talk about a challenge for fine motor skills and bilateral coordination!

Beginner scissor skills typically involve learning how to perform one short snip at a time (around 2 years old) and how to make several short snips in a row along a line (around 2 1/2 to 3 years old). Then, as children enter preschool, it gets more advanced.

So how can you possibly teach a toddler to use something as complicated as scissors?

Use play dough!

Play dough is an ideal medium for introducing scissors because many toddlers are already familiar and comfortable with it, you can control the size and shape of the piece to be cut, and you can easily make it yourself (click here for traditional recipe and here for gluten-free, which is critical for kiddos with Celiac disease). Using play dough to teach snipping also causes less mess because you don’t have to worry about tiny pieces of paper flying everywhere. Kids can just smash the play dough pellets all together or make a new creation once they’re done! And as an added bonus, play dough does not discriminate between right- or left-handed snippers (unlike paper), so it can be easily used by everyone.

Play dough is also great because it provides a good deal of feedback to children’s hands, telling them how much resistance there is and, subsequently, how much pressure to use as they snip away. This feedback is an important contributor to the development of fine motor strength and overall skilled use of the hands.

Additionally, play dough snipping is a nice introduction to bilateral coordination, teaching kids how to use one hand to perform a skill (snipping with scissors) while the other hand acts as a “helper” (holding the play dough). Can you think of another task like this which kids must perform as they get older? Handwriting, of course!

One way to make play dough snipping fun is if kids pretend they’re making food for their animals or dolls. As you know, two- to three-year-olds are great at pretend play and, for some reason, I find they love to feed their toy animals and dolls. This is especially true if you — the mature adult — join in by snipping along and making outrageous “eating” noises. You know what I’m talking about: Num num num! Mmmmm! Yummm! Chomp! Seriously, kids get a huge kick out of grown-ups making eating sounds.

As far as scissors go, you can spend money on buying “play dough” scissors, or you can head to your store of choice (I like my local dollar store) and pick up some toddler safety scissors. It really depends on the child and your budget, so it’s up to you.

A few additional tips for introducing scissor snipping:

  • Try introducing tongs, tweezers, hole punchers, chip clips, or kid-friendly chopsticks prior to asking kids to use scissors. This is a nice introduction to tool use and requires a similar skill set to scissor snipping. Learn how to make kid-friendly chopsticks by clicking here, and find ideas related to developing pre-scissor skills with tongs, tweezers, and more by clicking here.
  • Some kids respond well to being told to give the scissors a “hand shake” in order to properly orient their snipping hand with the thumb up and pinky down.
  • You can place a sticker on top of the scissor thumb loop to provide a visual cue for which side goes up and/or you can place a sticker on kids’ thumbnails to indicate which way to orient their hand (so they can see the sticker on their nail).
  • Opening scissors is more difficult than closing them. Thus, if you help kids get their scissors into the open position over the play dough, they can then close the scissors independently and gain a sense of accomplishment by cutting the play dough “all by themselves”. How exciting for them!
  • Try starting out with “spring scissors”, which not only makes it easier for kids to open the scissors but also provides increased feedback when closing them. I actually found some great ones at my local Dollar Tree (click here to view and order), but you can also find similar ones on Amazon for a few extra dollars by clicking here. I like these better than other models of adaptive “squeeze” scissors out there because they open wide like regular scissors while providing a little bit of assistance for the child who has weak hands or is simply new to using scissors.

Get creative with your play dough snipping and, before you know it, those little ones will be well on their way to developing scissor skills as they prepare a grand feast for their toy dolls and animals.

Happy snipping!

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One tip for introducing scissors: Use playdough!

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Have you ever tried to teach a little one how to use scissors? It’s really hard! Not only do they have to figure out how to divide up their fingers in order to operate the crazy things, but they also have to learn how to open and close them, as well as how to hold the material they are supposed to cut. Talk about a challenge for fine motor skills and bilateral coordination!

Beginner scissor skills typically involve learning how to perform one short snip at a time (around 2 years old) and how to make several short snips in a row along a line (around 2 1/2 to 3 years old). Then, as children enter preschool, it gets more advanced from there.

So how can you possibly teach a toddler to use something as complicated as scissors?

Use playdough!

Playdough is the perfect medium for introducing scissors because many toddlers are already familiar and comfortable with it, you can easily make it yourself, you can control the size and shape of the piece to be cut (big and flat, long snake, etc.), and you don’t have to throw away the tiny pieces that get snipped off…you can just smash them all together or make a new creation once you’re done!

Playdough is also great because it provides a good deal of “feedback” to a child’s hands, telling their little paws how much resistance there is and, subsequently, how much pressure to use as they snip away. This feedback is an important contributor to the development of fine motor strength and overall skilled use of the hands.

Additionally, snipping playdough is a nice introduction to bilateral coordination, teaching kids how to use one hand to perform a skill (snipping with scissors) while the other hand acts as a “helper” (holding the playdough). Can you think of another task like this which kids must perform as they get older? Fine, I’ll tell you: HANDWRITING.

One way to make playdough snipping fun is if kids pretend they’re making food for their animals or dolls. Two to three year olds are great at pretend play and, for some reason, I find they love to feed their toy animals and dolls. This is especially true if you — the mature adult — join in by snipping along and making outrageous “eating” noises. You know what I’m talking about: num num num! mmmmm! yummm! chomp! Seriously, kids get a huge kick out of grown ups making eating sounds.

As far as scissors go, you can spend money on buying “playdough” scissors (which are fully plastic, no metal blade, and typically come as part of an expensive playdough kit), or you can head to your store of choice (I like my local dollar store) and pick up some toddler safety scissors. It really depends on the child, so it’s up to you.

Get creative with your playdough snipping and, before you know it, those little ones will be on their way to skilled scissor use.

Happy snipping!

 

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Recipe for Easy Homemade Play Dough

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Who doesn’t love play dough?

Play dough

Play dough is great for so many reasons (like how it challenges fine motor, sensory processing, and pretend play skills), but it can get expensive, especially if kiddos decide to mix together several colors before putting them back into those tiny plastic pop-top containers.

So why not just make it yourself?

It’s so easy, uses regular ingredients you already have in your cupboard (with the exception of cream of tartar), and takes no more than 10 minutes. Plus, you know exactly what is in the play dough, so you don’t have to totally freak out when (not if) kids put it in their mouth. Here’s how you do it:

Ingredients for easy homemade play dough:

  • 2 cups water
  • Several drops food coloring (I used 10 drops and wish I would have used more)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon oil (vegetable, olive, canola…whatever you’ve got in your cupboard)
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (you can find it in the spices aisle at the store)
  • 1 cup salt (don’t be fooled, this is A LOT of salt)

Directions:

In a large pot, mix water and food coloring. Then add the rest of the ingredients.

Cook over medium-high heat and stir with a wooden spoon (not a spatula, too flimsy) for about 5 minutes until the consistency is thick like…well…play dough. The longer you cook it, the harder it becomes, so keep an eye on it and take it out as soon as you like where it’s at.

That’s it. You’re done! CAREFULLY remove hot play dough from pot and allow to cool.

Once your play dough has cooled enough to touch, it’s time to play! What are you (ahem…I mean, the kids) going to make?

A birthday cake?

A happy face?

Once you’re ready to put the delightful batch of dough away, you can store it at room temperature in a simple, airtight container such as a gallon-size ziploc bag. This way it’s always soft and easy to take it along with you. Plus, as mentioned in a previous post, the zip seal will challenge the little rascals’ fine motor skills every time they open and close the bag.

You could also provide smaller portions for little hands by dividing your batch into plastic pop-top baby food containers (like with Gerber baby food) or small plastic containers from the dollar store. Also a great challenge for kids’ fine motor and bilateral hand skills.

Good luck with your play dough adventures, and don’t forget to have fun!

 

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