Little Tikes

Little Tike toy's are great!.

Constantly on the move, your toddler is learning more skills in a shorter period of time than at any other age. Walking. Running. Stacking blocks. Linking words together. Imitating what you do. Toddlers are powerhouses of determination, eager to try and try again. With all you see and hear, your child is trying out other less tangible abilities-imagination, expression and communication, problem solving and self-confidence. In the articles below you'll discover how to encourage these skills.

Your one-year-old might stir an empty bowl with a spoon, copying you, or say "vroom, vroom" while pushing a toy bus. Later, with increased understanding, your toddler pretends to lick the spoon or calls "bye, bye" as the bus pulls away. The transition to imagination has begun. Here's how you can encourage the kinds of play that stimulate imaginative thinking.

Playsets help children recreate daily life

A simple dollhouse, play garage or farm can inspire your toddler's early attempts at imitation. Moving around figures and vehicles, your child relives familiar activities, like going to bed or eating. As language skills grow, your child adds imitative conversations to the action. "Remember when" chats with your child will help recall experiences to imitate. Asking open-ended questions—such as, "Where is the car going after you get gas?"—might prompt imagination in a child who's already altering and adding to real-life stories. Encouraging imitative play helps ready your child's brain for creative thinking.

Extend a child's world with trips, videos and books

You may have already noticed how a special trip-a visit to a farm or petting zoo, an airplane ride to grandma's, a vacation at the beach-stimulates your child's awareness. Back home, remind your child of the new adventures you've shared. Reading picture books to your child, playing with toys or watching videos together also can introduce new experiences or help your child sort through and understand recently seen sights, people and animals. New experiences, beyond familiar everyday activities, feed your toddler's need to explore and provide rich material for imitative and imaginative play.

Provide a variety of real-life experiences

As keen observers who absorb more than they understand, children first use imitative play to make sense of the world, reenacting what they've seen and heard and thinking it over. Gradually, they're able to transpose experience and imagine what could be. Give your child the "raw material" of imagination by providing a variety of real-life experiences and information about them. Point out what's happening in everyday activities, from cooking to checking out at the grocery store. Provide the toys and playthings that will help your child replicate what's been seen. You'll stimulate imitation and, later, an active imagination.