We were a Playmobil/Marvel superheroes household – our 2-year-old son (and his mum and dad) loved adding to his Playmobil City Life collection, and what little boy isn’t “hi-yah-ing” as Batman all over the place? But I also came to realize that there are certain toys and games that are simple in nature but were still loads of fun for my little one.
Hide the flashlight. There’s not much more to it than that – we hid the lit-up flashlight and he follows the bean of light to find it.
Dice. He loved shaking and rolling the dice, piling them up and knocking them down, and we liked counting the dots (a great exercise in learning numbers).
Flour/oil play. I mix four parts flour to one part baby oil (or olive), put it in a deep roasting pan, and give him a few toys (my son loves his Matchbox construction trucks but Playdoh tools work well too). It’s like magic sand but it’s all natural. Place the pan on an old sheet on the floor so you can just shake it out afterward.
Car wash. A bowl of soapy water along with a few brushes, sponges and rags, and my son is washing cars for awhile on the floor. It can also work with other toys (Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Pony, plastic dolls like Barbies, etc.).
A jewellery box. Obviously, remove the valuables, and then let your little one go! From the ring slots and necklace hooks to the tiny drawer compartments, there’s lots to explore here.
Restaurant. All you need is a few plastic dishes and utensils, and you can sit back while your toddler serves you the best air tea and air pizza you’ve ever had. In the process you can teach them about setting the table.
Paper play. My toddler loved ripping paper, so I arm him with scrap paper, old magazines and his kiddie scissors. We talk about the pictures that we find and sometimes we glue them to paper as artwork.
A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.
