Raising a smart toddler sounds like it’s a lot of effort and it’s true there is a bit more input needed from you, as a parent, if you want your child to do well, but the rewards are immense: a closer bond with your child, a whole host of different experiences for them and you and the possibilities of them going on to have a successful life themselves.
Teach Them Social Skills
Arrange playdates with other children of varying ages, attend playgroups with similar-aged children, go to the park and encourage interaction with others, allow them time to play and mix with other children without being herded away for another activity, ask them about their day and teach them conversation skills by showing interest in them
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Provide Them With a Loving and Caring Upbringing
Praise them, celebrate the positives, give hugs and kisses, but also share your boundaries so everyone stays safe and happy.
Don’t make fun of them or berate them in front of others.
Be a good role model and show them the behaviour that you expect.
Encourage Speech
Sing songs and nursery rhymes using actions to make them fun, talk to them, be silly with them, provide a running commentary on what you’re doing, talk to them about their surroundings and how things work, let them copy you, correct their speech sometimes, allow them time to be chatty.
Ask them questions.
Encourage Their Independence
Let them make small choices in their day, as to them, they are big choices. Things like clothing choices and snack choices. It can be a choice between two things but it’s still their choice.
Let them help prepare meals, be that by providing them with a tower or stool to stand on so they are at worktop height or by cutting up fruit at their own table.
Encourage tidying up, help them, tidy with them and make it into a game.
Pick the Best Child-Care You Can Afford
Pick a child-care setting (if needed) which will nourish your child and enhance their toddler years. Lots of play is needed in the toddler years and you’ll often hear the phrase, “Learning through play.”
Pick child-care where your toddler will be happy with someone who cares about them.
Read Books With Them Every Single Day
Set up a reading area such as a bookcase or book box with a comfy cushion to sit on. Encourage them to help themselves to books and either read with them or let them sit and flick through the pages themselves.
A Yoto player would also be a good idea here as they can listen to a story and follow along if you also have the book. Have a look at my Yoto Mini review here.
Let Them Get Enough Sleep and Build a Bedtime Routine
A bedtime routine could consist of getting into pyjamas, brushing teeth and hair, reading a book together and having a snuggle and then bed.
Some families also incorporate bath time into a bedtime routing but we don’t believe bathing our children every day is good for their skin, but it can have a calming influence on some children so it does work for some families.
Give them time for free play
Play is how toddlers learn best. They problem-solve, remember, explore, make decisions, learn new textures and ways things work, process information and if playing with others, they also learn social skills.
Let them run around, make up their own games, play with their toys their own way and not how the box says to play with them. We, as adults, don’t always need to direct the play. Here’s a post I wrote about ways to encourage independent play in toddlers.
Provide Opportunities For All Kinds Of Different Activities
Widen their experiences, starting at home. Let them paint, dance, build dens, read comics, play games on a tablet, play with playdough, have a toy kitchen.
Then go on adventures out of the house to the library, parks, woodland, swimming, to the seaside, museums, role play villages, and amusement parks.
Travel via different modes of transport: bus, train, tram, plane etc.
Provide Stimulating, Educational Toys
Educational toys encourage problem solving and resilience.
I love toy rotation where we have some toys and books out in easy reach and then every so often, I’ll swap them for other toys in the attic. This means that my girls aren’t overwhelmed with toys and have a renewed love of toys which maybe had been overly played with before but now feel new and exciting.
Be Involved In Their Life
Take an interest in what brings them joy and nurture this. Provide play activities around their interests. If they’re into dinosaurs, visit an attraction with dinosaurs dotted round the place or go to a natural history museum. If they’re into fairies, find a fairy trail to go on.
Join them up for clubs and classes which they’ll love. Don’t overdo it though as sometimes you can go to too many classes.
Have you spotted some ideas you’d like to try out with your toddler? Let us know on social media.
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