I personally think we should get them outdoors as much as possible and play with them and, at the same time, limit their access to technology because whether we like it or not they always end up watching too much time in front of the TV and tablets. What activities do you consider to be the best for toddlers?
Building blocks or putting rings in the stand, playing with colourful toys help sharpen their brains early on. Whatever, they can do at their level should be encouraged.
I grew up in a culture where toddlers are treated as wards. That means adults act like tutors or teachers. The most common activities for toddlers are nursery rhymes and songs but playing for physical exercise is also a must. There are lots of games for toddlers that do not involve running to avoid injury. It is sad that some toddlers are left to the care of gadgets that they may grow to be anti social. Young parents should bear in mind that the traditional caring for toddlers is still the best which is affection.
That's precisely my point @Alexandoy, how many times I am at a restaurant or with friends and I see kids that only eat with the tablet in front of their faces? I really see no point in this as kids need love and attention and not technology abuse.
I have my child play different activities, some just for fun and some to enhance her learning process. She's a toddler now so what she enjoys are books, play doh, blocks, coloring, toys with different shapes and colors and she has learned so much with these. She also likes to pretend to cook or do things she sees me doing such as cleaning. She does own a tablet which she uses once in a while where I downloaded child apps and some of her favorite cartoons.
A few weeks back, we were in the supermarket dining area and there were 2 toddlers in the table beside us. The toddlers were about 3 and 4 years old with 2 nannies for each of them. But the children were both holding a tablet and playihg on their own while the nannies were chatting. My wife said that it is better if the nanny would be talking to the child instead of the child using the tablet. At least the toddler can learn to talk. Isn't it that the toddler years is the formative years for speaking? Hmm, my wife is right. The toddler will learn to speak better if the adults would continually talk to them instead of letting them use the tablet.
That's a scary sight really. So at the restaurant there were two nannies, two toddlers and two tablets? This seems one of those jokes people tell! Where were the parents? Why weren't the nannies at home giving them dinner? Why two nannies? Crazy world we live in!
I agree with the notion of getting them outside as much as possible. From all sides really it makes sense. Saves money, keeps them in shape, build the imagination and is just more natural and I bet leads to them being a lot happier.
Is using technology all that bad? I don't think letting them use a tablet in a restaurant so they won't run around and bother other people is much of a problem. Sometimes toddlers don't want to speak with adults. They just won't speak with you no matter what. People that become tech savvy can grow up to create amazing technological advances. There should be balance as well, though. They should play some physical activities for health. Just because someone isn't speaking to the child at the moment, doesn't mean it's always like that.
Activities for toddlers should e a mix of indoors and outdoors activities. The activities should be not only improve their physical conditions but also develop mental condition. If you teach chess and play chess with your child (in door activity), it will benefit your child's brain, similarly, if you let your child play football (outdoor activity), your child will regain strength and build bones and muscles.
A colleague of mine has a toddler that she normally goes pick from the Day Care every afternoon and have the little boy stay in the office with her until closing. My observation, the boy would play with her mother's tablet virtually throughout the the remaining hours of work. In a conversation I told the mother to lessen her boy's use of the tablet, get him more used to offline activities as this will help him become a more socialized person.
The issue is that it's more convenient for us parents to give some piece of technology to our kids and do whatever we have to do. At the same time it's better both for us and the kids if we find the time and have the capacity to pick them up at school and go ride the bike with them, play football or simply play a board game, but at the end of the days those will be the memories they will never forget.
