A few days ago we told you about the possible games and the right toys to share time with our children, and at the same time, to learn things while having fun, when the children were a year old or older.
Following that entry today we explain what are the recommended games for 2 year old boys and girls, taking into account that the first and most important thing is to have fun, have fun with them and thus spend time together, but explaining what they can do for our children.
I mean learning, because many, most games, can help our children learn new concepts, to better develop some area and ultimately to grow. That's why it's interesting not pigeonhole our games only in what they like the most, but offer them variety, different toys with different uses for them to do different things, free play to develop their creativity, game aimed at learning rules, cooperative play so that they understand that teamwork is tremendously useful and symbolic game to rehearse dialogues, experiences and everyday situations.
That it is not a matter of turning the game into something heavy or pigeonholed into a daily schedule that we must meet to reach the milestones that we mark them, as if this were a school game curriculum, but play and have fun, that is grace, in many different ways. Learning, as I commented in previous entries, will come alone.
Here I tell you what can be achieved, indirectly, when we play with our children to many different things:
- Stimulate the fine motor skills: It is achieved with manipulative toys, but also with many daily activities that can help you control and improve your mobility in hands and fingers. So by boat it soon occurs to me that he can peel a hard-boiled egg, be the one who tries to take stickers to paste them into a story, turn the pages, play catch breadcrumbs, etc.
- Favor the sense of touch: Let him touch and experiment with textures, with elements of nature (sand, water, snow, stones, leaves), hot and cold things ... There are also many toys to stimulate touch, with different textures. It is interesting to perceive the sensations also with the feet or with other parts of the body.
- Develop your understanding of the social environment: Toys that include characters, photos or drawings of people and games or activities to identify and meet the people around them, name them, relate them, etc. are very suitable. We can make a kind of small family tree with family photos, to explain what kinship relationships are and where he (or she) is located.
- Understand and express emotions: It may be a little soon, or it may not be, to understand different emotions and empathize with those people who feel sadness or rejoice when someone is happy. Let's say we can start showing you different moods by playing faces and urging you to put them on too. Also, when it really happens, when he gets angry, naming what he feels will help him relate one thing to another and understand what happens to him.
- Foster interest in reading-writing and graphic expression: to encourage it it is important to read stories, name objects, teach written words, talk about the letters, invite you to exercise the stroke, to paint ... We can put blackboards, large papers to paint as they like, moving the whole arm, games easy to color, etc.
- Expand your communicative skills: in the same way that we can work on emotions, we can also work on speech. This is done mostly with everyday life, talking a lot, listening to what you have to tell us, explaining what we do, what we are going to do, telling you new words, explaining stories, etc.
- Foment motor tasks: The development of gross motor skills is important, since it improves the control and coordination of your body movements. Thus, in addition, you can be aware of your own strength and learn to control it. Some movement games suitable for this age are the ones you do with tricycles, balloons and balls, among others.
- Overcome challenges and stages of change in its development: at this stage there are difficult changes such as accepting the school, stop using the pacifier or diaper, etc. These processes are useful toys and games with which we can make use of the symbolic game. It is advisable to start playing it before it happens, to advance to the problem or change and to internalize these developments, seen in "life" of other characters. Then these situations can serve as experience for your own benefit and to internalize those changes in a more normal way. Obviously, it is recommended to continue playing it also while the changes happen, because through the game he can also explain to us the barriers he finds, or what he feels.
But I can't spend so much time with him because he has started school
Around two years many children begin to go to the nursery, if not already, and many begin school because they have not yet turned three. This takes time to be with them and makes us play less. Well, given that many of the areas we have discussed are already working in the school, because they carry out a much more targeted game than home, what we can do is precisely the opposite, abuse free play, "I lie with you and we play whatever you want", the word, the stories, explain our day, explain what you want, let's go for a walk, help me we're going to make the purchase and in Definitive to continue sharing time and experiences. There is no better way to create bonds, to strengthen the emotional bond and to help them to carry better that of not spending so much time with us that live with them our life. Love and play do the rest.
