Parenting Tips for Your 15-16 Month Old Toddler
This toy helps toddlers learn about the different ways that things feel. They learn how to tell one feel from another. The toy also gives them a chance to collect and learn about the shapes, colors, and sizes of different objects and materials.
Materials:
- Small cardboard box, like a shoebox
- Crayon
- Small touch treasures collected by child
- Glue, check the bottle to be sure it says nontoxic or child safe
Making the Toy:
Print your child’s name in large letters with the crayon on top of the treasure box. With your toddler’s help, glue small objects of different textures and shapes inside the box.
You can include pieces of sandpaper, scraps of wool, fur, sticks, small toys, shiny lids, rocks, and so forth. Make sure these things are not sharp or dangerous and make sure they’re not small enough to choke your child.
Playing:
Your toddler will enjoy just looking at and touching the things in her treasure box. Encourage her to tell you about the objects. You can tell her which ones are hard or soft, which are big or little, which are round or square. You and your toddler can take turns talking about the objects.
You might want to have separate treasure boxes for special kinds of things. For example, a box of all round things or things that are all hard, all furry, or all shiny. You can take walks to collect natural things like leaves, cones, and flowers for an outdoor treasure box. You can make a treasure box of things from a special occasion, trip, or a person.
