Developmentally Appropriate Activities to do With Your Child at Home!

It is important to play with your child at home as we all know, but what research also tells us is that learning at home is imperative to a child’s healthy growth and development. Parents often believe that if they send their child to a childcare facility during the day, they are getting all of the learning they need at school, this is incorrect. While children are receiving a great education by attending school, their learning must also be supplemented by parents or guardians at home. Children learn far more when their learning is supported by parents and extended into the home environment.

            When planning activities for your child keep their age in mind as well as their abilities. You want activities to be challenging enough to keep them engaged, but not too difficult where they are unable to complete the activity as this could cause frustration. Keep in mind that while there are certain activities listed for each age group some of the activities may not be well suited for your child’s abilities, each child’s abilities vary.

            For infants some activities you can do that are appropriate and beneficial for physical development include tummy time, dancing, and working to go from sitting to standing up. It is good for infant cognitive growth to look at themselves in mirrors, and look at pictures that have different colors that contrast each other. Reading books to your infant is also extremely beneficial to their cognitive growth. Playing peekaboo and singing to your infant helps their emotional development.

            Reading books is a great activity for all ages, this helps their cognitive growth and language development and is also great for bonding time with your child. Pretend play is great for social development for children two and older, this helps children grow their imagination and vocabulary skills. This also helps their social emotional growth as they learn to interact with others. Some examples of pretend play are playing with dolls, build a zoo with animals, cook something in their play kitchen, or going “shopping” with their toys.

            Arts and crafts are also a great activity that can be done with all age groups. Use whatever you have available in your home, you can create with a lot of supplies you already have! Some examples include, paint with aluminum foil in a ball or toy cars. Get leaves from outside and let them paint or color paper over the leaf. Trace their hand or body with crayons or markers. Create playdough with flour, water and salt. Make slime with baking soda, water, and food coloring. Practice writing and tracing their name. Arts and crafts help children to develop their creativity and imagination and also helps to develop their fine motor skills.

            It is also so important that you get outside and get them moving to get proper exercise and build their large motor skills. Riding bikes, scooters, roller blades or cars is an activity toddlers and preschoolers typically enjoy and can be done in the driveway or around the neighborhood. Going for a walk also is a good way to get them out of the house and explore nature.