18-24 months

Toys: Play house (picnic set, shopping cart, kitchen set), babies/dolls, smaller blocks, toy instruments, thick wood puzzles (few pieces, easy to manipulate), train set, ball (i.e. running and kicking) and crayons.

Play Ideas: Integrate daily routine activities into play routines. Practice showing your child how to take care of a baby doll – feeding, changing clothes, bathing, sleeping, and playing. Read picture books with your child and talk about all the different actions/objects then you can draw a picture to help facilitate your child’s understanding of the book. For example, if you read “the little blue truck” then has your child draw a blue truck and some farm animals.

24-30 months

Toys: Basketball, art supplies, dress up clothes/costumes, pretend house play – more realistic (e.g. mini household objects – broom, dishes, tea set), doll houses, construction sets, toys that have keys to open doors (e.g. vet clinic),

Play Ideas: You can help develop your child’s fine motor skills through drawing. You can also use toys that require your child to open doors with a set of keys or to use a pair of tweezers to remove items. You can also make your own sorting games by having your child sort pastas, beans, etc. into different shaped containers.