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The best toys are NOT toys! ✨ 🛍️ Let’s s

The best toys are NOT toys! ✨

🛍️ Let’s see what toys that are NOT toys we can find at a thrift store.

👀 Here are 4 things to look for when you go on your own thrift store adventure.

Look for things that:
⭐️ Are not breakable
⭐️ Have multiple purposes
⭐️ Are safe for children under 3
⭐️ Are made from natural materials

What toys that are not toys have you found at a thrift store?
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#earlychildhooddevelopment
#toddlerplay
#toddlerplayideas
#toddlerlearning
#looseparts
#loosepartsplay
#languagedevelopment
#earlychildhoodeducator
#parentsupport
#parenthoodjourney

(Toys, thrifting, children, low-cost, save money, baskets, pitchers, play, loose parts)

I love board books for infants and toddlers! But

I love board books for infants and toddlers!

But WATCH OUT for board books with flaps.

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*In fact, I avoid books with flaps like the plague!*

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I know this sounds like blasphemy from someone who works with young children, but there are many reasons for this.

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1️⃣ The fine motor control needed to purposely lift the flaps is beyond the skills of most infants and toddlers.

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In their precious enthusiasm, most young children tear the flaps off or rip the base of the flaps. This leads us to the next problem.⬇️

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2️⃣To avoid the tearing of the flaps, most adults reading lift-the-flaps books try to tightly control the child’s access to the flaps while reading together.

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This puts adults and children reading these kinds of books into a tug-of-war of who has control of the book.

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Uuggg.

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We can skip ALL this turmoil by simply avoiding books with flaps for young children.

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I sadly acknowledge that most *Spot* books 🐶have flaps. And I love *Spot* books. But the tug-of-war isn’t worth it. Unless you are OK with torn flaps! 🙂

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Just a quick note: There are so many beautiful, fun, books with flaps designed for older children. This makes sense to me!

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Older children have the fine motor skills to access these books and the flaps are so fun!

➡️So, keep your flap books for older children.

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If you are looking for great books for infants and toddlers that DON’T have flaps and CAN’T BE TORN (!), check out Indestructibles. I love them!

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#earlychildhooddevelopment
#toddlerlearning
#toddlerbooks

#toddlerstruggles
#babybooks
#languagedevelopment
#earlychildhoodeducator
#parentsupport
#parentcoach
#babymilestones

#parenthoodjourney

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books for babies, books for toddlers, early learning, board books, indestructibles, parents, parenthood

You know all the reasons to read to your toddler,

You know all the reasons to read to your toddler, but yours is unwilling.🤦

You are NOT alone!✨

➡️A reading routine will be your new best friend!

💪Routines are the powerhouse of development. They can form the structure upon which learning can be built.

💡Building a routine for book reading serves a few purposes.

1️⃣A routine of book reading helps ensure that reading happens regularly.

2️⃣A routine of book reading keeps it off of a “need to do list” and into a “just the things that we do each day” list.

3️⃣A routine of book reading makes the activity predictable, and predictability is essential for toddler learning (Benitez & Saffran, 2018).

💡Essentially, routines are better for you AND better for your child.

⬇️Here are some places in your day where you could place a book reading routine.

✨First thing in the morning when he might be a little cuddlier.

✨After lunch while she is still in her highchair, pull up a chair next to her and read a book.

✨Before nap time to settle down.

✨During bath time, if bath time is relaxing for your child.

✨Before bed, to finish off the day.

🤓A book reading routine doesn’t need to happen during all these times. Choose two or three and see what works best for you and your child

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👀Looking for more help?

This week’s < Development Matters > was focused on reading to your toddler! Be the first in line to get next week’s publication!

⬇️
www.speakjoycenter/subscribe and 🔗 in bio.
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Reference
Benitez, V.L. & Saffran, J.R. (2018). Predictable events enhance word learning in toddlers. Current Biology, 28, 2787-2793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.017
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#earlychildhooddevelopment #toddlerlearning
#toddlerbooks
#toddlerstruggles
#babybooks
#languagedevelopment #earlychildhoodeducator
#parentsupport
#babymilestones
#parenthoodjourney
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(reading, toddler, struggle, routines, Indestructibles, bath time, reading)

The best toys are NOT toys! ❌ 🤔So what are t

What should you look for when gathering books for

What should you look for when gathering books for babies and young children?

On this day, my local library had some books that would be great from a development standpoint!

Here are the things I look for when thinking about books to support language development for an infant:

✨SIMPLE // I really lean into simple books.
✨HIGH CONTRAST // Books that have a high contrast between colors (like black and white) can be great for really young infants.
✨REAL PHOTOS // Research has shown that infants and toddlers up to 24 months are more likely to learn words from photos or highly-realistic drawings than from less-realistic cartoon drawings (Gamea et al., 2009). So I always include books with real photos for young children.
✨ACTIONS & INTERACTIONS // I like books that include action words or encourage interactions, especially with babies and young children. Action-oriented books make reading time a holistic time for learning and connecting.

What else would you add when looking for books for babies?

REFERENCE
Gamea, P.A., Allen, M.L., Butler, L., Carey, S., & DeLoache, J.S. (2009). Toddlers’ referential understanding of pictures. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 104(3), 283-295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2009.05.008

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#earlychildhooddevelopment
#toddlerlearning
#toddlerbooks
#babybooks
#languagedevelopment
#earlychildhoodeducator
#parentsupport
#parentcoach
#babymilestones
#parenthoodjourney

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