Playtime Activity: 24-30 Months

Children this age enjoy basic pretend play. For example, give your child a doll and a spoon. Say to your child, "The baby is hungry." See if your child will “feed” the baby. You can add other props too, such as a small blanket, hair brush, etc. Your child can put a blanket over the baby, brush the baby’s hair, rock the baby, and put the baby to bed.  Practice, practice, practice!  The more exposure your child has to pretend play routines, the better she will be at them.

Possible Intervention Strategies & Supports

• Some children may have difficulty creating and/or remembering pretend play sequences on their own. You may need to explicitly demonstrate and narrate (e.g., say, "First, we put the blanket on baby. Then, we rock her. Here, your turn.").

• Small muscle control is still a big part of your child’s development at this age, so it’s important to engage her in activities that require her to use her hands, such as bead stringing, complex block building, and line copying with crayons are important. For example, offer your child larger beads to put on a string. You can use a pipe cleaner instead of the string if the string is too hard at first. Or, try stringing dry noodles (e.g., penne or large elbow noodles). You can even have your child paint them first.

• Use action songs to develop make believe play, such as “I’m a Little Tea Pot” or “Little Bunny Foo Foo.” These songs helps children practice motor planning and gross motor skills while doing make believe play. Be sure to play along with the songs too!

Tips

Try to follow your child's lead and interests as much as possible. If your child is interested in trucks, for example, go with it! You can present your child with “trash” (using blocks or even crumpled up pieces of paper) to pick up with his truck. You could say, "The trash truck is coming to get the trash." See if your child can fill the truck up with “trash,” take it the “dump,” etc…and then start over again! Repetition in play is helpful and enjoyable for children this age.

Family Handout

Click here to download an editable one-page handout of this age range's playtime activity, interventions, and tips.