Fun Games to Play With Your Toddler

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Not Too Young: Fun Games to Play With Your Toddler

You can have a toddler who plays Monopoly, cards, or Jenga! While you may think that’s impossible, that these games are too complicated for kids still learning to balance on two feet consistently, that’s not the case. The secret is not to play the games the usual way, but to adapt them to the abilities and interests of the toddler.

Board Games

The one board game that most kids learn to play first is, of course, Candy Land. Older kids may groan when this game comes out, but toddlers and pre-schoolers love it because it is simple and they understand the rules. There are no dice, numbers, or counting. (http://fun.familyeducation.com/slideshow/board-games/48954.html?page=1)

But you can still play other games with toddlers. They are fascinated at this point by the mere mechanics of various games. For example, have them roll the dice or move pieces on the board. Use the Clue board to tell silly little stories with the game pieces as “people”. Use the Monopoly money to set up a pretend store to buy and sell toys or play food. Grab some action figures like Bob the Builder and build the Jenga tower — then knock it down!

Card Games

Put aside your visions of pre-schoolers playing poker, because toddler card games are much simpler. Just sitting down and exploring the card deck together will be a fun activity. Find the Jokers in the deck, or the “people cards”, identify the colors and suits.

Play games of sorting or matching by color. You could also try a variation of Slap Jack, in which you turn over the cards one by one, and your toddler slaps her hand down on any card that has a person on it — kings, jacks, queens and even jokers are fair game.

These activities can be expanded if you have some family card games with specialized decks. A big, colorful deck like Uno has even more possibilities for sorting and matching games. And a card game like Hogger Logger or Poop: the Game has funny pictures on the cards that are fun to look at and sort through.

And finally, there is always that classic game, 52 Pickup! Letting your child burn off some energy by simply throwing the cards in the air and then picking them up will be a guaranteed hit. If your toddler wants to throw them but not pick them up, make that part of the game. Time how fast she can gather them all up, or count slowly down from 10 and challenge her to get them all before you say “One.”

When you get creative and use the tools of various games to make up activities that toddlers can enjoy, everyone will have a good time, and your toddler won’t feel left out of the fun!

Chris Archer is a Dad of 3, the youngest 2 years old, the eldest 8. He absolutely loves family life, even the crazy moments, and enjoys writing parenting articles for a range of blogs.