Play to Learn: Structured Play Is Important to Your Child’s Development [downloadable]
Allowing your child to play is a must! A healthy balance between children playing on their own and having structured play with parents is important for early learning and development.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) created an infographic with some great ideas to give you a jump start!
Build a fun foundation for learning with these activities:
- Choose books with several different textures, shapes, and items that your baby can hold and touch.
- Describe and compare objects for your baby.
- Show your child that objects can behave in surprising ways.
- Ask your child open-ended questions while reading.
- Count objects you see with your child.
- Use blocks and puzzles to help your toddler learn about shapes and how they fit together.
- Play ‘I spy…’ with colors, numbers, and shapes.
- Introduce memory cards to your 2-year-old.
- Play board games with game pieces that you move along a pathway by counting spaces.
Learn more about how play supports early learning. Visit https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/early-learning. Download this infographic as a PDF.
Source: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development | Play to Learn, https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/digital-media/infographics/PlayToLearn | public domain
Do you have concerns about your child’s development? To schedule an evaluation or to get advice about your child’s challenges, call or email a CHC Care Coordinator at 650.688.3625 or careteam@testing.chconline.org
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