What You Can Do to Encourage Your Baby’s Thinking Skills from 12 to 24 Months

• Follow your child’s lead.  If your child loves to be active, she will learn about fast and slow, up and down, and over and under as she plays on the playground. If she prefers to explore with her hands, she will learn the same concepts and skills as she builds with blocks or puzzles.

• Offer your toddler lots of tools for experimenting--toys and objects he can shake, bang, open and close, or take apart in some way to see how they work. Explore with water while taking a bath; fill and dump sand, toys, blocks.  Take walks and look for new objects to explore—pine cones, acorns, rocks, and leaves.   At the supermarket, talk about what items are hard, soft, big, small, etc.

• Play pretend with your toddler.  When you see him cuddling his stuffed animal, you might say: “Bear loves it when you cuddle him. Do you think he’s hungry?”  Then bring out some pretend food. These kinds of activities will help build your child’s imagination.

• Provide props.  Offer your child objects to play with that will help him use his imagination: dress-up clothes, animal figures, dolls, pretend food.

• Provide the support your child needs to solve a problem but don’t do it for him.  If he’s trying to make a sandcastle but the sand won’t stick, show him how to add water but don’t make the castle for him.  The more he does, the more he learns.  This builds thinking skills and self-confidence.

• Child-proof your house--again.  Get down on your child’s level and explore in all the ways he is able to now.  This will help make sure you identify and move all the things he can get to.  Doing this helps ensure your child is safe and also reduces the need for lots of “No’s.”

• Encourage your child to take on some self-care activities—combing hair, brushing teeth, or washing her face.  This helps her learn how familiar objects work and solve problems like how to hold the brush.

• Give your child the chance to help around the house.  She can wipe down the counter with a towel or sponge, push a broom or mop, rake leaves. These activities give your toddler many chances to solve problems:  Is the spill all wiped up?  How do you pull a leaf bag out of the box for Daddy?  They also help your toddler feel helpful which builds their self-esteem and self-confidence.

• Give your child choices.  Hold up two different pairs of pajamas and say:  “Do you want the rocket ship or the motorcycle pajamas tonight?”  Ask your child to pick out which story he wants to hear, from a selection of a few books you have chosen.

• Make a “My Day” book.  Take pictures of your child doing all her everyday activities:  brushing teeth, eating breakfast, playing, napping, going to the park, taking a bath, going to sleep.  Snap photos of her with her caregiver or family members, like grandparents, that she is close to.  Glue each photo onto a sturdy index card, punch a hole in the corner of each card, and tie securely with a short piece of ribbon.  As you look at each page, ask:  “What comes next?”  Your child will come to recognize the people, places, and activities in the book, will begin to anticipate what happens next in her day.

• Follow your child’s lead.  Let him do things over and over again (even if you find it tiresome!)  He will let you know when he is bored and needs a new challenge.  If the activity he wants to repeat is unacceptable to you (like jumping off the couch), offer another, similar activity:  jumping outside or jumping over an obstacle course you make inside using soft pillows.

• Add a new twist. If you child loves pushing buttons over and over again, find other things he can push to make something happen like the button on a flashlight.  This will expand his thinking skills even more as he sees how the same action can have a different outcome based on the object.

• Make everyday moments chances to categorize.  Have your child help with the laundry and put all socks in one pile and shirts in another.  Go for a nature walk and collect leaves, pine cones, and rocks in a bag. Then sort them when you get home.

• Involve your toddler in everyday tasks.  For example, setting the table together is a matching activity since each family member gets a fork, spoon, napkin, and placemat (save the knives for a grown-up).  Help your child put each item on the table.  Be sure to thank him and tell him what a big help he is.