5 Fun Activities for 2-Year-Old Children
Read on to find out about our 5 chosen fun activities for 2-year-old children – they should give you a few ideas on how to help them enjoy learning new skills.
By age 2, babies start to be a real box of surprises, even for their parents. In the midst of all their new skills, you may be wondering what games are appropriate to help them in their growth.
What skills should we work on at this stage?
The development of a 2-year-old child is closely related to their physical attributes.
This means that they’ll be gaining skills that are related to their larger and also their smaller muscles. These are called gross and fine motor skills, respectively.
Also, in their cognitive abilities, children reach milestones that have to do with their imagination and problem solving.
They become capable of simulating situations, classifying objects by colors or sizes, and even memorizing songs that they like.
Finally, there will also be a marked improvement in their language. Little by little, they’ll start using new words, repeat what their parents say and ask about the causes of things.
On top of that, they’ll interact with other children of the same age with greater ease.
5 fun activities for 2-year-olds
1. Serve food
Give some pretend food from their play kitchen to your baby, and ask him to distribute them among those who are present.
To make the game more realistic and entertaining, get him to use all the play kitchen utensils he has among his toys. You can also use real objects that won’t be dangerous for him.
What this game teaches them is the importance of sharing their belongings with other people.
It’s also a great activity for children who don’t have any siblings, because it’s something they’ll have to learn for when they start school.
You can also use this game to teach your child numbers.
2. Play pretend jobs
From a very young age, children like to pretend that they’re adults. They love pretending they’re working in different types of jobs. They even enjoy playing parents.
So, why not become their accomplice and make yourself available to be their doctor, cook, father or mother?
Children may not know what to do at first and may find it difficult to work out the meaning of the activity. However, as you help them and give them clues, they’ll begin to let their imagination fly and start to invent how a certain professional would act.
Remember that children catch on much faster if we give them examples. A good idea to help them is to start first with a stuffed animal or some other toy that will get their attention.
This way, they’ll feel confident enough to imitate us. Without a doubt, role-playing games are one of the best fun activities for 2-year-olds.
3. Crafts and paintings
Making your own creations and drawing and painting on any surface or material will help your child develop their fine motor skills, a vital skill for this stage of their lives.
As for crafts for young children, you should start with basic ideas: making animals with rolls of toilet paper, puppets, crowns and even a garden at home are great options.
However, don’t underestimate the power of pencils and paints. In this phase of their creative development, children may only be able to draw scribbles and shapeless figures.
It’s important that you value their efforts and encourage them to continue. In that way they’ll continue improving and having fun.
“The development of a two-year-old child is strongly defined by advances in their physical capacities.”
4. Specific toys
Of course, improvizing with what we have at home will always be a good option. Especially if you ask the child what he wants to do and offer him your time so that you can have fun together.
However, there are also games you can buy that are designed to be fun activities for 2-year-olds.
Puzzles start to be part of children’s lives at this age. As do costumes and masks, ideal for putting yourself in the shoes of your favorite characters.
Construction games also have a lot to offer children, as their motor skills are really starting to develop now. Having a kit of hammers, screws and toy bricks will be great fun for them.
Finally, don’t forget tricycles, a great way of spending an afternoon outdoors. And for cold rainy days, board games are an excellent option.
The board games will have to be quite basic ones, obviously, but they’ll still be great fun!
5. Treasure hunt
This is one of a child’s favorite fun activities. In fact, it’s a distant ancestor of hide and seek, one of the classic childhood games.
In this game, you place a specific object somewhere in the room and ask your child to help you find it. As they look for the object, give them some help along the way.
Tell them they’re “warm” when they get near the object, and “cold” when they’re far away. In addition to having fun, this game will help your little one develop his sense of location.
You can also use it to teach the names of objects and to learn to follow directions, which you can give in the form of “helps.”
These fun activities for 2-year-old children, as simple as they are, will encourage your child’s overall development.
They’ll challenge them to make progress in their development, and they’ll give you unforgettable moments together!