In ancient times, children grew up without toys, educational books, cartoons and activities. The way of life of an ancient man was such that absolutely everything was done by hand, and the child from birth was included in the daily affairs of the tribe. Modern life is arranged differently: you do not need to hunt mammoths, weave baskets, craft tools, sew clothes. The washing machine erases, lunch is cooked in a slow cooker, we buy clothes and products in the store. That is why modern parents can not avoid having to come up with activities and games for their little ones. In some activities, the presence of an adult is necessary, and which ones are needed just so that an adult can make time for his affairs.
How to entertain a baby
While the baby is small, games and activities with them are very simple. A baby up to a year old can easily be carried away by a bright rattle. This age is most associated with the development of different sensations. The kid is interested in everything: to feel, hear, see, lick. It is best to get to know different sensations and direct your efforts.
You can, together with the crumbs, sort through rags of different textures, click on the buttons of a musical toy, consider large pictures in books. Sometimes, a mother may leave the child, leaving him with a spinning music mobile or in a developing rug where you can touch and consider a lot of things. However, by the end of the first year of life, the child masters the movement in space: either he creeps confidently and very quickly and gets up at the support, or tries to take the first steps. From that moment on, his interest was increasingly directed towards studying the world around him, and his mother needed to be puzzled by new ideas for her crumbs.
We spend time with a baby 1-2 years old
At the age of 1-2 years, the best gaming partner is mom. Of course, the company of peers for the child will also be interesting, but children develop precisely in the process of joint activities with adults. What can you do with your child?
- Blow the soap bubbles. Usually, all the kids love to watch the colorful soap bubbles fly and watch the “magic” of turning water into colorful iridescent bubbles. They will be wondering where so many popping balls come from, and the child will definitely want to try to blow the soap bubble himself. This activity may stretch until the solution in the bottle runs out.
- Artistic creation. A 1-year-old baby will be happy to paint with finger paints; at 2 years, the child will completely cope with liquid gouache, watercolors, pencils and felt-tip pens. Mom does not make sense to actively participate in the drawing process: let the child himself study the properties of paints, mix colors and make his own discoveries. In this process, an adult is only required to properly organize the artist’s “workplace” and direct his actions a little.
Creative activities with kids from 1 year old - drawing with finger paints
- Modeling. Offer your child a modeling dough or plain soft clay. You can show the crumbs how to roll a ball, sausage, how to make a cake. Do not demand specific results or teach a child to sculpt specific forms: kids are always interested in studying the properties of the material themselves. The advantage of this activity is the development of motor skills.
Sculpt from dough for modeling
- Reading books. Children 1-2 years old are not yet able to perceive long prose and catch the plot thread. No matter how we like fairy tales, 1-2 years is the age of poems and rhymes. Small poems on understandable and well-known topics for the child will be just right. In this case, parents can not "reinvent the wheel", and give preference to the classics of children's literature. Still, children are very fond of special musical children's books.
- Role-playing games. At about 1.5 years of age, interest in role-playing games wakes up in children. In such a game, a child imitates an adult by performing the actions that he observes daily. The most popular stories for babies are to feed the doll, swaddle it, ride in a stroller, put to bed. True, many manipulations of the baby are still unavailable, so you can not do without the help of your mother. The older the child, the more “advanced” are the plots of his games.
- Active games. Not a day with a child should be complete without them. Do not sit constantly at the table with brushes, plasticine and books ?! Be sure to run and jump, stretch. For example, you can entertain the kid by playing catch-up. If the child does not yet know how not to run, but also walk confidently - you can ride the ball on the floor, jump on the fitball.
- We play toys. It’s not enough to make the whole nursery use different toys. A child can master them only with an adult, so mothers and fathers must definitely join in such games. For babies 1-2 years old, cubes, pyramids, musical instruments, frames with inserts, designers with large details are ideal.
Toys for a child 1-2 years old
- Air balloons. Kids love to play with balloons. You can draw on the ball, you can inflate it and let it go without tying it - it will be very fun and quick to whistle in the process of blowing off. The child will be surprised and interested how a light and large ball can be made from such a small piece of rubber. (From personal experience: they put a small balloon into a boy under a T-shirt (like a big tummy). His joyful surprise knew no bounds. For 10 minutes he ran with the happy face of the owner of a miracle under a T-shirt! Http://club-mam.com/parenting/chem -zanyat-rebyenka-v-1-2-goda.html)
How to entertain a child
"Distracting" activities for the baby (1-2 years)
Sometimes mom needs to take the baby to do the scheduled household chores or just take a little rest. Leaving a child idle and unattended is not safe, so it’s better to offer him some interesting activity.
- Paper expanse. And at 1 year, and at 2 years old, the kids show great interest in making paper rustling, tearing or mashing it. The safest option is to give the peanut a roll of toilet paper. Perforated paper comes off interestingly on pieces of paper, and it’s a pleasure to unwind the roll and see what’s in the middle. Newspapers and magazines rustle great, but it is not advisable for the kid to give them: newspapers are very dirty with paint, and sheets of glossy magazines have sharp edges that can easily be hurt.
- Bag of surprises. We put different objects in a textile bag or gift bag and hand it to the baby. Children are interested in taking out objects one by one, examining them, folding them back. By the way, many kids love to rustle with packages from the supermarket. This is not the best activity for the child: the baby can put a bag on his head, bite off and inhale a piece of cellophane. Such games are possible only under the close supervision of an adult.
- Kitchenware. If mom needs to cook dinner, you can take the crumbs with you to the kitchen. Plastic containers, silicone shovels, pans, spoons and cookers are popular with all children.
- Pour, pour. Such a meditative lesson as transfusion of water from a tank into a tank or pouring cereals for a long time can captivate a baby. To play, you need a large basin, which we fill either with water or with something loose (large pasta, beans) and various jars, boxes, bottles. If the child plays with pasta or cereals - choose this option so that the particles are large.
Games with Krupa for the smallest
- We include in household chores. In some situations, you can not try to take the child for a while, but do household chores together. For example, give him a damp cloth and show how to wipe the dust. At 2 years, the baby will be able to wield a children's floor brush and even wash the dishes. You can put the little one on a steady supply near the sink, open the tap with water, soap the sponge and let the plastic dishwasher wash.
We read on the topic: how to protect the kitchen for the child and how to captivate the baby in the kitchen - https://kid.htgetrid.com/en/eto-polezno-znat/rebenok-na-kuhne-ili-obespechivaem-bezopasnost-malenkomu-pomoshhniku-chem-zanyat-rebenka-na-kuhne.html
- Interactive toys and cartoons. Of course, even cartoons are better for the child to watch with adults, but sometimes the mother needs to concentrate well and not be distracted by the child for 15-20 minutes. You should not abuse this method and “turn off” the baby from the daily life of the family, because observing the actions of adults gives much more to development than the most “developing” cartoon.
It is better to alternate joint and separate classes, at the same time, it is necessary to give the child the opportunity to get bored, laze and come up with a game for himself. The constant slipping of ready-made games and activities inhibits the creative development of the baby and dulls his cognitive activity.
To summarize a short summary.
- Adult Fun:
- Bubble;
- Air balloons;
- Drawing with paints (finger, watercolor, gouache);
- Modeling with dough or soft plasticine;
- Books (music can be);
- Role and active games;
- Games with toys;
- Independent pastime of the child:
- Toilet paper / newspapers / magazines;
- Rustling bags;
- Water transfusion;
- Pouring cereals;
- Help with a thought: washing dishes / cleaning;
- Cartoons.
Read on:Raising a child up to a year: Tips for parents, games and toys >>>
We also read: 14 ways to keep your baby busy when mom wants to relax >>>
5 Ways to Take a Baby Without Toys (Part 1)
6 Ways to Take a Baby Without Toys (Part 2)
I don’t know, as with the majority, and my daughter demanded an indispensable presence and participation at this age, no matter what she did. That is, it was simply impossible to occupy something with a child in order to find free time for himself. She herself categorically refused to play.
And ours (he is 1.5 years old) still loves to play with boxes, different jars.A prerequisite is the presence of an easily removable lid and, for fun, filling containers, you can use other containers for less. He loves to deal with all this business, picking at his discretion different plastic boxes into each other.
Now a lot of toys help us, mummies! I gave my preference to one company, for the most part my daughter had cikko toys. But there are other companies of course!
We still honor those that can be skated and still loves playing with such people. He loves music too. Recently I bought her a toy chikko mirror, we are 1.2, the manufacturer recommends a toy company from 6 months. The impression is positive. The button is the heart to press and the music plays sweet, and even the face of Snow White appears - very funny. It’s called the “snow white magic mirror”, the price is also adequate
Pendant "Soft Bunny" by Chicco. We saw this pendant when we arrived from the maternity hospital. Our relatives gave us such a lovely present. A very delicate and beautiful bunny, soft plush, the little pean became interested in the bunny in the third month, has been actively walking with him for a long time, and falls asleep very well under a beautiful slow melody, this is our "magic wand". And recently, dad taught Matveyka to pull the bunny by the ring on his own. This is our first Chicco toy, we are delighted, we advise everyone! Very comfortable to attach to the crib.
Of all the sorters, Chicco's Animal House is perhaps the most “long-playing”. We were presented with it at 6 months. At first, the son became interested only in keys, we had them in the role of a “teether”, and actively developed motor skills, I had to wash them several times a day. Closer to 9 months, the baby began to open and close the doors of the house, examine the animals and sort them out. In a year, he planted animals with me in the house, I could insert figures into holes myself, it was more difficult with animals .... After a couple of months, the animals began to interest, began to add up the figure and the animal according to their colors. At 1.5, we knew how to do everything, including opening several doors with the appropriate keys. This is a great logical educational toy! The kid endlessly took her with him to the country, although there are plenty of toys. Of course, like any other Chicco toy, everything is thought out to the smallest detail: no sharp corners, easy to wipe, bright and smooth, easily lifted from above, convenient in transportation and carrying. And how many development sides are there for the baby: figurative thinking, logical thinking, sensorics, motor skills, and now we are actively developing fantasy on this toy: we are 9 years old and, the baby, apparently, decided to present the animal house in the form of a garage for cars, pulled out from it all the figures, and puts small cars in each hole, tries to lock it with a key) We recommend such a sorter to everyone! In general, he was recommended from a year old, and we started working with him earlier and are very satisfied!
Chicco Toy Car “Danny Drift”
Probably, like any dad who has a son, I choose toys in children's stores with great interest. And they are all naturally tested by me first. I didn’t even have a question about buying this machine, I just didn’t wait for my boys to turn 2 years old and gave it to them for their first birthday. And I almost regretted it. It’s natural for me to “drive the wheel” for the time being, but my children are watching her with such enthusiasm and squeals. Trying to catch up and grab, run away from her. Management is just fantastic, the material of which the machine is made reliable, without sharp corners, and very pleasant to the touch. A real racing car, with “drifts” and various sounds.