| Child development play activities are designed to | | | | * Expose your child also to a variety of people |
| guide parents and carers into learning how they | | | | and children. This doesn't mean they have to go |
| can best promote meaningful and creative play | | | | to daycare to achieve this. You can accompany |
| with their children. | | | | them to playgroups, mother's groups, fun |
| Parents and carers who play and talk with their | | | | swimming/music/dancing lessons, friends houses |
| children regularly, on the floor at their level, | | | | and so on. Anything that provides a change of |
| following the child's lead, make the best intellectual | | | | people, scenery and experience is excellent for |
| and emotional companions. | | | | child development play. |
| It is important to let your child be the learner and | | | | * At any age, activities need lots of repetition to |
| play with your child when you are feeling patient | | | | connect neural networks for mastery. Young |
| and relaxed. | | | | children love repetition, which helps concepts sink |
| Child development play activities: | | | | in. |
| * Make sure your child is in the mood for play and | | | | * For babies, place a variety of toys just out of |
| wants to be actively involved. | | | | reach so they can choose which toys to grasp |
| * Provide safe areas where there is great | | | | and investigate. |
| opportunity to explore with a variety of play | | | | * Try to keep restraints such as playpens and |
| materials. | | | | strollers to a minimum when is a safe area. These |
| * Have play materials organised so your child can | | | | can inhibit child development play opportunities. |
| find them and safe enough so they can explore | | | | * Look through magazines for creative project |
| them freely. | | | | ideas, modify them to suit what resources you |
| * Set up an exploratory environment where you | | | | have. Save some household materials for |
| won't have to say "no" all the time. | | | | construction projects such as toilet rolls, tissue |
| * Variety of toys is more important than quantity. | | | | boxes and string. |
| Rotate different toys and play materials weekly | | | | * Examples of materials that help refine and |
| and move them from one room to another | | | | organise sensory intake are easels and paints, |
| every so often. | | | | clay, sand, play doh, water and finger paints. Try |
| * Provide your child with a range of different | | | | to buy materials that are washable so that you're |
| experiences, they need to get out and about. Go | | | | not worried about the mess. |
| to the park, library, pool, shops, friends house, the | | | | For lots more ideas and other ways you can |
| zoo. Child development play activities need culture | | | | stimulate your child's brain development, visit |
| and exposure to feed the imagination. | | | | Brainy Bambino. |