Toddler craft activities are a firm favourite at Christmas, Halloween and Easter time. Home-made cards and presents a far more meaningful for grandparents and other relatives and friends than mass-produced presents.
However art time is actually very beneficial for your toddler's development. This article looks at all the various aspects of this.
The first benefit to the child of doing any craft activity is the opportunity to handle different materials. This helps their understanding of the world around them.
Next is hand-eye coordination. You may think that nothing really fundamental is happening as your child slaps some paint onto the picture she is creating. This is especially true if she seems to be daubing the paint all over the place! Wrong. Isn't she painting rather in the same way that she eats? Do you think that when your child handles a spoon nothing is being developed? Of course it is.
The third reason to do toddler crafts is that helps develop social skills. Depending on the setup and other children present, your toddler will be learning to turn take, listen to instructions and learned from watching others.
Craft activities develop language. You have numerous opportunities to repeat important verbs such as stick, draw, colour etc. Then you can encourage your child to describe what he has created. "Green car," "big dog" etc.
Toddlers love to control their world, and crafts give them a much-needed sense of mastering their environment. Is this a far-fetched statement? Let me give you an example. To make Halloween card for grandma, you can offer your child a picture of a pumpkin to decorate. The simple act of choosing which design allows your child to feel in control of their world.
Finally, toddler craft activities give your child some quality time with you. As parents, we are continually divided in how we spend our time - in today's modern world it's too easy to hand your child over to the babysitter in the corner (a.k.a. the television). Making a card or collage with your child forces you to stop focus 100% on that quality time you dream about but never seem to get round finding. Being creative is relaxing not only for your child, but for you. Life with a toddler can often be stressful, and what better way to unwind than to do something together. You never know, you might even let your child out to play as well!
