Toddler birthday party games can be a great way to celebrate your child’s birthday. You can also use that opportunity to combine a variety of skills that toddlers need to learn. You can plan games that are fun and combine them with skills that toddlers are trying to master. No matter how great a party you throw, don’t be discouraged if your toddler throws a huge tantrum when people leave. That’s what toddlers do.
Theme Games
For toddlers, simple themes will be fine, according to the Amazing Moms website. You can choose a farm theme and play games that go with the animal theme, such as providing animal ears and having an animal parade. You can have an A-B-C theme and decorate with blocks and paper letters. You can play a game where the children draw as many letters as they are able to, while you play an A-B-C song in the background.
Movement Skills
Movement games are fun for toddlers, and you are helping them develop movement skills, according to the Babies Online website. Set up an obstacle course for the party where the children can crawl through boxes, jump over an object like a jump rope, or walk through a maze. You can blow bubbles and have the children run and jump to try to pop them. You can play “ring-around-the-rosy,” follow the leader or tag.
Motor Skills
A toddler is just getting to be able to use fine motor skills. A toddler starts using her hands differently than she did as a baby, says Dr. Nasreen Talib, Kansas City, Mo., pediatrician. Fun games for toddlers at a party that utilize fine motor skills are using silly putty, making a simple craft using kids’ scissors with beads, markers or crayons, playing puzzles or finger painting, according to the Sensory Processing Disorder website.
Social Development
You can play games, such as rolling a ball between players. This teaches children how to take turns, according to the Parents website. You can also play a game where you show the children picture of faces displaying different emotions, such as angry, sad or happy people, and let the children identify the emotions.
Dispelling Fears
Sometimes, you can dispel certain fears that your own toddler or a party guest may have. Some children are afraid of clowns, for example. If you have an older child or a teenager dressed as a clown for the party–to do face painting perhaps–your toddler, or the guest who is afraid, might decide that clowns are not so scary after all. If the toddler feels empowered, by watching the non-threatening clown painting faces, the fear may go away. The key to defeating fear is to empower children, says Dr. Richard Sherman, Los Angeles, Calif., clinical psychologist.
Photo Credit
- Happy Toddler image by Mary Beth Granger from Fotolia.com
