Play for One-Year-Olds

Most likely, your one-year-old wants nothing more than to be moving around on her own… and finding new ways to “talk” about it. Full of seemingly unlimited energy and curiosity, kids this age make the transition from baby to young child, and become increasingly independent as they move toward two years old.

Children this age often have a hard time sharing and develop a strong sense of “mine”. Unsupervised, their curiosity will get them into things their parents and caregivers don’t intend them to experience, like Mommy’s lipstick or the cat’s litter box. Most play is solitary with some parallel play—that is, playing alongside but not really with another child.

Here are some play activities that work well for toddlers[1]:

Hide and seek toys or safe object—give her clues on where to find it
Play with blocks, stacking rings, shape sorters, nesting cups, and containers for filling and dumping out
Play with moving toys to locations in the room where the toddler needs to cruise or walk to get to them
Water play during bath time or in the kitchen sink with adult supervision—provide floating toys and containers for filling and pouring
Play with push or pull toys and balls of safe sizes
Play on ride-on toys that the toddler uses her feel to steer and propel
Climbing play—over, under, around, and through safe spaces
Naming objects around the house, outdoors, in the grocery store, at the zoo, and in picture books
Care of dolls and stuffed animals
Singing songs and doing rhyming games or finger plays
Creating simple books with family pictures or magazine cut-outs
Play with chunky crayons and markers on large pieces of paper stabilized by taping them to the play surface (wall or table)

[1] Resources consulted include: (1) By the Ages: Behavior & Development of Children Pre-Birth through Eight by K. Eileen Allen and Lynn R. Marotz. Published by Delmar, a division of Thompson Learning, Albany, New York: 2000; (2) The American Academy of Pediatrics: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Birth to Age 5: The Complete and Authoritative Guide, by S.P. Shelov and R. E. Hannemann. Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishers, New York: 1994.

Provided By Susan J. Oliver, Tropomedia
This information is provided on behalf of the toy experts at your neighborhood toy store.