Toddlers - P & G - Startwell

Autumn Activity Ideas for Toddlers

Activity ideas for Parents/Carers to do with toddlers between 1-2.5 years old. If your child is not yet walking, some of these activities might be a little difficult. Feel free to access the baby parent ideas for extra ideas.

Warning: some activities may contain items that are choking hazards. Children should be supervised at all times during the activities. For food activities Startwell recommend chopping food into finger shapes/sizes. No not chop into circular/disc shapes as this increases the risk of choking.

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Active Azra wants us to move more and sit less, by getting our ‘belly buttons on the move’.

Activity:

Develop an obstacle course in the house or garden for you and your child to follow. This could be crawling under the table, jumping on floor tiles and climbing over ‘Cushion Mountains’. Encourages movement that moves the belly button.

What you need:

Household or garden items such as cushions, tables.

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180 Katie wants us to remember that walking children should be active for 180 minutes spread throughout the day. For the under 3s this includes burst of high energy activity.

Activity:

Put on the radio or a music channel or a favourite nursery rhyme and encourage the children to move to the music. Incorporate this into your daily activities. You could even make a chart to keep track of how much physical activity you do each day – aiming for 180 minutes daily.

What you need:

Music

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Sammy Skills wants us to develop physical skills. Skills are learnt, developed and then mastered.

Activity:

Play a finding and filling game by using an old box or wash basket and use as many balls as you can find or rolled up socks. Scatter the balls/socks around the room or environment and play find and fill the box/container. Skill – moving with items holding/carrying and transporting

What you need:

Old box or washing basket and balls or socks.

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2 snacks Max helps us to remember that 2 healthy snacks and 3 healthy meals a day are needed to keep children healthy. Base snacks on fruit/vegetables and carbohydrates.

Activity:

Energy foods (carbohydrate foods) such as bread combined with a portion of fruit or vegetables make a healthy snack. Try painting bread. It’s really easy and only requires some food colouring a paintbrush and a few slices of bread.

What you need:

Bread, food colouring and a paintbrush

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Micky me size is all about portion control – remember that children’s tummies are small and don’t need a lot to fill them. If they are over fed their tummies stretch, need more to fill them and can lead to obesity.

Activity:

Do a bit of water play in the bath or in a tub. Let the children fill the containers/pots near to the top but don’t forget to say that’s enough when it’s nearly full. You could have different sized tubs to represent different sized family members in the house.

What you need:

Bath or tub and containers or pots.

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Fay 5 a day wants everyone to eat a minimum of 5 pieces or fruit or vegetables every day. Fruit and vegetables are our protective foods that help to keep our bodies’ healthy and fight off illness.

Activity:

Extend your water play activity and see if different fruits/vegetables will float or sink. Don’t forget to ask the children if they know what each one is or name them together and then enjoy some fruit/vegetables with your meals and snacks.

What you need:

Fruit and vegetables you have at home

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Smiley Shen is all about keeping teeth healthy by cleaning teeth twice a day and limiting sugary food and drink. It is important that you supervise tooth brushing up to 7 years of age.

Activity:

Give your child a toothbrush and pretend to clean their babies (dolls) teeth.

What you need:

Children’s toothbrush and baby dolls or soft toys.

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Suzy Startwell is all about being a good role model for our children. Children learn from copying the behaviours of those they see around them. As a parent, practitioner or adult who is in close contact with children it is important that the behaviours they see and copy are positive.

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Autumn Activity Ideas for Toddlers

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