Having Fun with your Toddler
As far as your toddler is concerned, almost anything can be turned into a game and into having fun. The trick is to make daily tasks fun, if possible. They need to be done, so you may as well have fun doing them.
Quick example: You need to walk up a hill to get to a friend’s house or a park. Why not sing a song on the way up the hill such as ‘Oh the grand old Duke of York’.
Songs and Nursery Rhymes
Songs and nursery rhymes are a great way for turning jobs into fun activities. An easy way to learn some if you can’t remember them or if you grew up in a different country, is to take your toddler to a toddler group. They nearly all have a period set aside for a story and nursery rhymes. You can also sign your toddler up to the local library and take nursery rhyme books out of the library. Libraries also tend to have ‘Rhyme Time’ once a week and they are a perfect opportunity for you and your toddler to meet other mums and toddlers. Keeping a toddler occupied is much easier when you have regular outings planned.
Having fun with your toddler will make all the difference to your relationship with him. If you can truly have fun with him and laugh with him, he is much more likely to be cooperative at times when you are really in a hurry or need him to be especially ‘good’ for some reason.