These simple steps can help keep playtime fresh for your kids – and parents
Lise Bosch
Lise Bosch
Up next
Entertain your little one with these exciting toddler activities
Something changes when kids become grownups. We lose that adventure itch and that longing for wacky and unrestrained creativity. Life can start to feel smaller, like we’re locked in with limitations. We run that course for a long while before, suddenly, our spunky little ones yank us back to our free-spirited roots.
Finding your playtime groove in this transition isn’t always easy. It can feel awkward, stiff, and sometimes just downright boring (you love them to bits, but how many times can you build the same block tower?). And once your energy drops, your little one tends to step back as well. Playtime starts to lose its charm for both of you.
But the beauty of playtime is that there’s no right or wrong, and no formula you need to stick to. Sometimes it just takes a few hot tips and easy additions to shake things up.
Here are a few of our favourite steps to do just that.
1. Follow their lead
Let your little one take charge! There’s all sorts of crazy things happening in their adorable noggins, so see what bizarre creations they come up with. Any playtime led by the same brain that makes you bowl over with laughter is bound to be an adventure.
Notice what objects are pulling them in and what storylines they’re pinning together. Go along with it and ask questions or comment on what you’re both doing.
Often that boredom or frustration with playtime can stem from not knowing what to do or how to play. Relax into it, relieve yourself of the pressure, and run with the curious and unexpected play patterns your kid taps into. Through your encouragement, your little one gets to explore the depths of their imagination.
Sign up
Get tailored content based on your week of pregnancy
By signing up, you agree to receiving our Newsletters. Cancel anytime.
2. Commit to the bit
Once you’re in a rhythm with your kid and they’re paving the way with creative play, have fun with it!
Shed your pride and slip on that childlike wonder. Put on goofy voices, make big gestures, and respond to the silly things your kid says as if it makes the utmost sense. The minute we stop thinking and start playing, this time becomes richer and livelier.
It’ll also endlessly entertain your little one (they do love a silly voice), which is the ultimate warm and fuzzy feeling for you. And you might just find that by teasing out your inner child, life is a lot more fun in general!
3. Build, unbuild, and then rebuild
Why stop with just one creation? Sure, linger on the fulfillment of a job well done. But finding new ways to rebuild creations can help stretch your child’s (and your own) imagination even further. What other possibilities are there?
The LEGO® DUPLO® Buildable People with Big Emotions set is the perfect playground for this. It features five face bricks with different expression options for each, as well as diverse bricks to build characters of their own creation! Whether they choose a curly hair brick, short legs, or wheels instead of feet. The range of brick styles and colours encourage out of the box thinking for your child to create characters of their own design.
Once they’ve clicked together some figures, they can start fresh and re-build these bricks in a new way. What if this character had a ponytail? Or a green top? Maybe their arms splay out, or they have a wider torso. By building and rebuilding with this set, there are endless ways to play. It also helps widen your child’s perception of “normal” bodies, and how different people can look.
4. Add some tunes
Whenever things get a little dry in everyday life, we turn to music to jazz things up. So why not bring that into playtime?
Groove away with your little one while you play, and you’ll loosen up in no time. Whether they’re squirming, swaying, or just watching you with a smile, your kid is bound to love it.
Dancing in itself is a form of active play, so it also helps to strengthen your child’s muscles and refine their fine motor skills. It doesn’t matter if you’re bopping to Baby Shark or some ABBA throwbacks, as long as you’re both having fun!
5. The more, the merrier
Maybe it’s time to bring in some extra personalities for a more lively play sesh. Bring in dad, siblings, grandparents or friends and their kiddos. Even if your little one still prefers parallel play, just being around others can help flesh out their social skills.
Plus, more people means more ways to let them laugh! No one quite gets a giggle out of your little one like an Uncle pulling funny faces.
Having a playdate every now and again also helps playtime feel a bit less isolating for parents, as they can share the fun and joy with their fellow parenting friends.
6. Shake up the space
Playtime doesn’t have to be constrained to one corner of the house. Embrace the mess and change up locations for a fresh feel.
Maybe you move things outside with a picnic blanket, where your little one can become enraptured by the fuzzy feel of the grass and giggle at birds flying past. Or, you could play in the living room surrounded by cushions and blankets. You could even make a little fort with fairy lights!
Just like you sometimes need a little room refresh, shaking up your playtime space can boost some new creativity and fun into playtime. After all, ambience makes a big difference!
At the end of the day, playtime just needs to be fun and creative time with your little one. Keeping things fresh is just about finding new playpaths, having a groove, shaking up the space, or maybe busting out the LEGO® DUPLO® Buildable People with Big Emotions set.
Let your inner child free and in the wise (if not a bit dramatic) word’s of the one and only Whitney Housten, “let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.”
LEGO, LEGO DUPLO and the Minifigure are trademarks of The LEGO Group. ©2024 The LEGO Group.
This is a paid partnership between Kiindred and the LEGO® DUPLO® Brand.
Related Articles
Trending
Lise Bosch
Follow +Lise is a South African-born and Aussie-raised creative working as Kiindred's in-house writer and editor. With a journalism degree and experience in the beauty industry, she has a passion for family and lifestyle content. On her days off, she’s finding the latest and greatest brunch spots and trying to work through the longest TBR list known to humankind. It’s a work in...