Fifteen Simple Things Parents Can Do to Help Toddlers Learn

As an early childhood educator, I have gotten to know hundreds of young children and their parents.  And I've learned that, no matter what their circumstances are, most parents have one thing in common:  they want the best for their children.

It isn't easy being a parent in twenty-first century America.  Today's young parents often lack older adult role models.  Some have no adult support system.  Many of them work long hours outside the home, entrusting their children to daycare staff or relatives for the care they need.  All are greatly influenced by our rapidly changing, increasingly materialistic society.  Many young parents seem overwhelmed at times.  Even the best parents are sometimes conflicted about their roles as their young children's first teachers. 

As I've thought about this dilemma, I've come up with fifteen simple, essential things that parents can do with their young children to help them learn:

1. Read at least one bedtime story every day, starting when your child isn't much older than a newborn.  As your child grows, comment on the pictures and talk about the characters.  Talk about the parts of a book.
2. Take your baby out of that baby seat.  Carry your child in your arms, or use a front pack or baby sling to encourage bonding.  Put your baby on a blanket on the floor, with a few toys close by.  Let your baby explore his environment.
3. Feed your child nutritious food.  Breast-feed, if possible.  Follow your doctor's instructions.  As your child starts to eat "real food," avoid heavily processed foods and food with lots of added sugar.  Offer plenty of fruits and vegetables.  Limit juice.  Encourage your child to drink plenty of milk and water. 
4. Let your one-year-old feed herself with fingers and a spoon or fork.  If you are worried about the mess, use a bib, and put a mat on the floor under your child's chair.
5. Talk to your child constantly.  Ask open-ended questions, and respond to the answers.  Talk about things in the environment.  Use simple descriptive words:  "Bring me the red one."  "This is the biggest one." 
6. Use the phrase "Can you say...?" to encourage your child to learn new words.  Use names of colors and shapes in everyday speech; describe the characteristics of a particular shape. "This triangle is blue."  "A square has four sides all the same length: 1, 2, 3, 4."  "A circle is round."
7. Count to 10 (or 20, or further) with your child when you are waiting in line or at a stoplight.
8. Show your child how to touch and count one thing at a time; then count things in your child's environment:  socks, chairs, spoons, blocks, toes.  
9. Use alphabet refrigerator magnets or foam bathtub letters.  Start with the letters in your child's name, and talk about the names of those letters and the sounds they make.  Teach your child that T is for Toby, M is for Mom, D is for Dad, and then expand on what he already knows.  Point out particular letters in book titles, on cereal boxes, on blocks and toys.
10. Tape a piece of paper to your child's highchair tray or table and let him write on it with a large crayon or washable marker.  Encourage your child to draw a person or animal.  As writing skills improve, show your child how to write the first letter of her name.  Add letters as your child is able.  Spell your child's name out loud as you write each letter.  Hang your child's drawings and writing on the wall.
11. Buy a pair of plastic scissors that cut only paper.  Place your child in a highchair with scissors and junk mail, show her how to hold the scissors correctly, and let her snip.  Let your child put the scraps in the recycle bin or garbage can when she is finished cutting.
12. Encourage creative play!  Turn off the TV most of the time when your child is in the room.  Limit your child's use of computers, cell phones, electronic games, and battery-operated toys. 
13. Limit the amount of stuff you buy for your child, but be very deliberate about his belongings.  Every child needs a teddy bear or other stuffed toy or doll, blocks, wheeled vehicles, a ball, paper and markers or crayons, safe scissors, puzzles, and books.  Empty boxes of all sizes make wonderful playthings.  Garage sales and thrift stores are great places to find cheap, appropriate toys and books for your child.  If you can't afford to buy books, borrow some from the public library.
14. Young children love to help!  Even the youngest toddlers can help put away toys, wipe up spills, or put dirty laundry in the basket.  Show your child how to do a particular chore first.  Assist hand over hand, if necessary, until the child can do it without help.  As your child grows, add chores such as making the bed, setting the table, or washing a wall.

I hope this list provides parents with a good place to start.  I am convinced that today's parents are savvy enough to come up with even more innovative ways to start their children on the road to lifelong learning.  However, one essential thing is missing from this list, the most important thing of all:  Parents have the greatest responsibility of teaching their children about Jesus.

So, from the day they are born, read stories and sing songs about Jesus, pray for and with your children, and bring them to church.  Tell them what Jesus has done for you.  Last, but far from least:

   15.  Introduce your children to Jesus, the one who loves them most of all.