It is true what they say, children’s brains are sponges! From the moment they are born, babies are always observing and learning. There are endless opportunities to teach your child something, especially during playtime! Of course you can incorporate scholastic lessons during playtime (colors, numbers, animals, etc.) but play is a great way to teach children more complex concepts. These concepts include, sharing, problem solving, responsibility and overall awareness. Young children are very capable of learning these more concepts, they just need to be explained in simpler terms or even demonstrated for a child to understand.
1. Sharing
Learning to share is vital for a child to learn, especially if they are going to be spending a good portion of time playing with other children. While playing with your child it is important to teach them good sharing etiquette, such as asking to play with something someone else has instead of taking it, learning to play with a toy with another child, or patiently waiting their turn.
An easy way to teach this is to simply demonstrate good sharing. You may not care that your child grabbed the red car that you were just using while playing with them, but that’s not really the point. This is an opportunity to stop and teach your child the correct way. Simply tell your child that you were playing with that car and they cannot just take it from you. If they would like it, they need to ask nicely. Every once in a while we recommend telling the child that they need to wait their turn because you are playing with it right now.
Children learn best by example. If you are making a point to teach them to share while playing with them, it is more likely they will exercise those habits while playing with others.
2. Problem Solving
Being a kid is pretty great because you normally have an adult around to help you when you need it. However, it is important that a child learn how to use critical thinking to learn to solve problems. There is not just one way to teach problem solving, but we recommend giving your child a chance to figure things out on their own.
For example, when a child is first learning how to dress and undress themselves, it is common for them to struggle a little bit. Where does my head go? How do I get this sock over all of my toes? You get the point. It is easy, and quicker, as a parent to just do the task for your child. But you are robbing them of a great learning opportunity. We recommend instead of just jumping in to do it for them, give them a chance to try to figure it out. We don’t mean to sit back and watch them struggle, but try to help them first with your words. This goes for playing as well, let your child figure out how the toys work together. Have them slow down, and assess the situation. Ask them questions. Direct them without physically doing it. This will not only teach your child a new skill, but it gives them confidence in solving problems on their own.
Another way to practice problem solving while playing is creating problems for them to solve. Let’s go back to that red car. Create an obstacle course with blocks and ask your child to help you figure out how to get the car through the course. Set up a roadblock, flip the car on its back, start with something small. The first step to teaching problem solving is instilling confidence. If a child believes they are able to figure something out, they are more likely to try before giving up or asking for help.
3. Responsibility
Young children do not have many responsibilities but it's never too early to learn. One way to teach your child responsibility during playtime is to demonstrate it. After you are finished playing with a toy be sure to put it back before getting another one. Also, when it seems your child is finished with a toy, ask them if they are finished, and have them put away the toy. Repetition will eventually lead to habits.
You can even turn the responsibility of cleaning up after themselves into a fun game! When we are trying to get our toddlers to pick up the toys off their floor we simply try to make it fun. One game we play while cleaning up is “who can pick up the most toys at one time?” This especially works well when they have siblings. Another game we like to play is the color game. “Pick up every toy that is the color… orange!” Not only are you teaching them to clean up after themselves but you are also teaching them their colors! ;)
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