Role-play toys

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Toys that combine playful touches with classic themes are especially appealing as your 2-year-old starts to imitate the world she sees around her.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• "Mommy needs a checkup. Will you take Mommy's temperature?" Encourage your child to imagine all sorts of possibilities for pretending, and you'll be amazed how quickly she picks up on the idea and takes the lead!
• As she starts to play, ask open-ended questions to encourage more input from her. "Whose clothes are you washing today?" "What are you baking in your oven?" "When will it be ready to eat?" Such questions help build the language and thinking skills your child needs to leap from imitating to imagining.
• Toys for role-play toys are a fun way for your 2-year-old to practice following directions. When your child "mows" the lawn, for example, you may notice him following the patterns he's seen you moving in. For fun, give him directions on varying the patterns and see if he can follow them—moving diagonally across the yard or in squares from the inside toward the outer edges.
• Encourage good manners during pretend play. If she's at a make-believe restaurant, show your 2-year-old how to put a napkin on her lap, and remind her to say "please" and "thank you" as food is served. If she's pretending to take a train ride, talk about how important it is to be courteous to the other passengers.

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Ride-on toys

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

A trike helps your child learn balance, steering and how to pedal forward and backward—all good for large motor control. Alternating right, left, right, left as they learn to pedal contributes to "whole brain" development.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• When your child first sees a ride-on, he may be very happy to just get on and off repeatedly by himself. Or, he may sit on it and push with his feet, forward and backward.
• Ride-ons are designed so a child's feet reach the ground or the pedals, and so his body weight helps push the ride-on around. Often, children don't realize their feet should go around on pedals and they want to push back and forth; it may help if you show him how it's supposed to work. Put his feet on the pedals, hold your hands on top of them and push so he feels the motion of the pedals going down and around.
• For many children, steering with handlebars seems to happen automatically—they just get it and follow their nose! Help him to learn directions by saying the words, "Now you're turning left," or, "Turn to the right."
• Children love to make use of the ride-on's little storage compartments. If his toy has one, help your 2-year-old select a "friend" to take for a ride, or pack a little snack for him to enjoy on a break.
• Children at 2 years are old enough to learn to "park" their ride-on. Give your child a "parking spot" in the shed or garage. Say, "This is your parking spot," using that term. "Just like Mommy has a parking spot for our car, this is where you park your ride-on when you're done with it."

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Sports toys

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

This is a great time to introduce your child to the joy of sports with toys that strengthen eye/hand coordination, balance, and physical development. Such toys encourage both individual development and team play, and of course, build confidence.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Whatever sport your child is trying out, you want to make sure she's playing at her level. If you're using an adjustable basketball hoop, for example, put the backboard at its lowest setting for a 2-year-old. An adjustment feature on a sports toy allows you to challenge your child as she grows and her skills develop.
• In praising your child while you coach, it's important to praise her actions rather than just praising her. Instead of saying, "Wow! You're a great player!" get more specific with statements like, "You're really getting the hang of throwing that ball just hard enough so it gets to the hoop." Coaching your 2-year-old in this way makes your support more real for her—and more useful to her as well.
• Paint the picture of your child's success by putting it in words: "Take your time and think about putting the soccer ball in the net." Make your words as descriptive as you can: "You kicked the ball right into the net. Your aim was great, and it went right in. Good for you!" With your help, your child will be able to visualize her success.
• To help your 2-year-old learn about taking turns, introduce her to the concept of team play by finding a way to play the sport that involves both of you. "It's your turn to throw the ball. Now it's my turn to try." She'll begin to understand that cooperation is needed because both people can't throw the ball at once.

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Roller skates

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

As your child's physical skills improve, she's ready to go beyond walking. Early skates help develop balance and coordination, encouraging physical activity and building confidence.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Help your child put on appropriate safety gear before skating; make it clear that it's part of the process. Today's 2-year-olds are very comfortable with wearing safety gear—as a matter of fact, wearing things the "big kids" and adults wear actually makes them feel "cool," too.
• Be sure to outline the boundaries of acceptable places to skate. Make sure the skating place is free of obstacles, and check the sidewalk or driveway for cracks your child could trip over.
• If your child's skates are adjustable, start out with them on the beginner's setting. Just as you helped your child balance when he was learning to walk, hold onto your child now. Little by little, let him find his balance; finding it is the key to learning to skate.
• Soon, he'll be able to move forward, transferring weight from one foot to the other. And then he'll be ready for you to change the skates to the next setting.
• Make some family fun: if you have skates, put 'em on and head down the sidewalk with your child; if there's a roller rink in your area, check it out together some rainy afternoon—it adds a different dimension to skate along to changing music and lights. Or, make your own roller rink in your driveway or basement.

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Battery-powered ride-ons

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Ride-ons that have a "theme" provide your child with a setting for both pretend play and physical play.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• For your 2-year-old's first adventure on a battery powered ride-on, you need to take time in the beginning to go through how it works: show him how to make it go forward, how to stop it, how to turn.
• Make sure where he drives is not only safe, but big enough for him to turn around until he can back up.
• Almost from the start, your child will pretend to be going "places" in his car—to the store, to Grandma's house. To enhance his pretend play, add props like a bag of groceries for him to put in his car. Or, you can make your own traffic signs: have your child help, and talk about what each one means and how a driver is supposed to respond when they encounter one.
• On a warm day, it can be lots of fun to wash your cars together (be sure to remove the vehicle's batteries before the bath begins). Give your 2-year-old his own sponge and bucket of water, and watch the pride on his face develop as he learns about taking care of "his car."

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Play kitchen with pretend food and utensils

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Two-year-olds love to imitate what they see in everyday life, and to role-play different parts for themselves. Providing the right props—and plenty of space—sets the stage for imaginative re-enactments of events in their world, while encouraging social skills as they start to play with other children.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• At first you may want to help your child get started by offering suggestions. "Let's make spaghetti. You'll need the pasta and the sauce." Use what comes with your play kitchen as a guide, or use safe items found in your own kitchen as props. Your 2-year-old will think it's great if you make something in her play kitchen and then prepare the real food in your kitchen; you'll extend interest in the activity by adding realism and richness to her play. If you're playing the chef, it's OK to say to your child, "This is what we need to do." But your child will get more from the experience if you engage her ideas more directly: "We're going to make spaghetti. What do we need next?" See what she says; you can always say, "Oops, we forgot something!" if you have to.
• Get some simple children's cookbooks that call for following just two or three directions, and try them out at home. Kids like to see the end results pictured just as much as adults do, so try to find books with big, colorful photos.
• Cooking together presents a natural opportunity to teach your child about good sanitary practices. "Before we start, we always do a good job of washing our hands so we don't get any germs in the food we're about to eat." Also talk about the need to cook food thoroughly, to keep your hair back, etc.
• As you see your child's memory skills and ability to follow directions emerging, give her opportunities to try them out at other times, like when you're grocery shopping. Preface your instructions with a comment like, "I noticed how good you are at making spaghetti when Mommy tells you the recipe. Can you help me find everything we need to make it at home?"

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Simple remote-control vehicles

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Being able to control the action of a toy helps children build confidence. And toys that encourage communication and involvement help put imagination on the fast track, letting kids express ideas while opening up new ways to interact.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Let your 2-year-old be the conductor or the racecar driver who chooses where his train or sports car will go, and what he'll do. You can offer hints, but don't direct the play too much or your child won't take ownership of it. Try things like, "Here's the cargo. Where should your train take it?" "This boy is in need of a ride; can he get on?"
• Extend the play by bringing other small items to the toy— toy animals and figures add lots of fun and inspire new ways to play.
• There are a lot of things you can do and neat places to visit to foster your child's fascination with his vehicle. If your 2-year-old has a toy train, for example, get books and children's videos, watch for miniature train shows in your area or visit a toy museum. If there's a train that runs in your area, find out its schedule and go see it. Better yet, take a trip on a real train!
• If you have a set that includes a track, you may want to consider putting it in a place where you can leave it set up for awhile. Your 2-year-old is more likely to think of playing with the toy if it's right there, ready to roll.

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