Play ideas and reading

Ideas to help your child play and learn

You can give your child lots of different opportunities to play, and it doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive.

• Look at books and sing songs and nursery rhymes with your child. It’s fun and will help them develop language and communication skills.
• Use things that you’ve already got around the house. Try some of the ideas below.
• Get involved yourself. Your child will learn more from you than they will from any toy.

Play ideas at any age

Playing with water

Babies, toddlers and young children love playing with water – in the bath, paddling pool or just using the sink or a plastic bowl.

Use plastic bottles for pouring and squirting each other, plastic tubing, a sponge, a colander, straws, a funnel, spoons and anything else that's unbreakable.

You’ll probably both get wet, so cover your clothes. Never leave a young child alone with water. A baby or young child can drown in only five centimetres (two inches) of water.

Reading to your baby

You can start looking at books with your baby from an early age. It will help them with their future learning. The time spent sharing books with your baby also allows you to bond with them and is good for emotional wellbeing.

Even before babies learn to speak, they will enjoy hearing you read to them. Listening to you will give them a feel for the sounds, rhythms and rhymes of language. Even small babies like looking at picture books.

Local libraries usually have a good range of children’s books. Some run story sessions for young children. Even if it’s for only 10 minutes a day, looking at books with your child will help them build important skills and encourage their interest in reading.

Booktrust offers free Bookstart book packs to every child at two key ages before they start school. The aim is to help families enjoy reading together every day and get your child off to a flying start. 

You will get a Bookstart Baby pack in your baby's first year, usually from your health visitor or other health professional. Your child will also get a Bookstart Treasure pack when they are three or four years old from their nursery, playgroup or other early years setting.

Visit the Bookstart website to enjoy interactive storybooks and games, and to find out about events at your local library. You’ll also find plenty of other book recommendations. 

Play ideas from four months

Rattles

Wash out a plastic screw-top bottle and put dried lentils or beans inside. Shake it around in front of your child and they will learn how to make a noise with it. 

As some dried beans are poisonous and young children can choke on small objects, it’s best to glue the top securely so that it won’t come off.

Play ideas from 18 months

Play dough

You can make your own play dough. Put one cup of water, one cup of plain flour, two tablespoons of cream of tartar, half a cup of salt, one tablespoon of cooking oil and some food colouring or powder paint in a saucepan.

Stir over a medium heat until it forms a dough. Once the dough has cooled down, show your child how to make different shapes. Keep it in a plastic box in the fridge so you can use it again.

Pretend cooking

Use a bowl and spoons to measure small quantities of "real" ingredients (flour, lentils, rice, sugar, custard powder). You and your child can mix them up with water in bowls or egg cups.

Drawing and painting

Use crayons, felt tips or powder paint. You can make powder paint thicker by adding washing-up liquid as well as water.

Firstly, show your child how to hold the crayon or paintbrush. If you don't have paper, you can use the insides of cereal boxes or old envelopes that have been cut open.

Paper bag or envelope puppets

Use old paper bags and envelopes to make hand puppets. Draw faces on them or stick things on to make your own characters. Get the puppets to "talk" to each other, or to you and your child.

Walking

Encourage your child to walk with you (you may want to use reins for safety) as soon as they are able. It might slow you down, but it’s a great way for both of you to get some exercise.

Play ideas from 24 months

Dressing up

Collect old hats, bags, gloves, scarves, nighties, lengths of material, tea towels and curtains. Ask friends and relatives or try jumble sales.

Make sure there are no loose cords, strings or ribbons that could wrap around your child’s neck or trip them (or you) up.

Paper plates or cut up cereal packets make good masks. Cut slits for the eyes and attach them to your face with string.

TV

Consider limiting your child’s TV viewing to less than two hours a day from two years old, and ideally no TV viewing before the age of two.

TV can entertain your child and give you a bit of time to do other things. Try not to have it on all the time, though. Always know what your child is watching. When possible, watch with your child so that you can talk together about what you’re watching.

TV is not recommended for children under two years old.

Play ideas from 30 months

Junk modelling

Collect cardboard boxes, cartons, yoghurt pots, milk bottle tops and anything else you can think of. Buy some children’s glue (the type that comes with a brush is easiest to use) and help them to make whatever they like.

Toy safety

When buying toys, look for the British Standard kitemark, lion mark or CE mark, which show that the toy meets safety standards. Take care when buying secondhand toys or toys from market stalls, as they may not meet safety standards and could be dangerous.

Toys usually have age warnings on them. If a toy is marked as "Not suitable for children under 36 months", don't give it to a baby or toddler under three. Check toys for sharp edges or small parts that your child could swallow.

Button battery warning

Some electrical toys contain small, round batteries called button batteries. As well as being a choking hazard, these can cause severe internal burns if swallowed or lodged in your child's ear or nose.

Keep button batteries well away from your child and make sure that battery compartments on toys are properly secured with a screw. 

If you suspect your child has swallowed a button battery, take them to A&E straightaway or call 999.

Toys for children with special needs

Toys for children with special needs should match their developmental age and ability. Ideally, they should be brightly coloured, make a noise and have some moving parts.

If your child is using a toy intended for a younger age group, make sure that it’s strong enough and won’t get broken.

Children with a visual impairment will need toys with different textures to explore with their hands and mouth.

Children with impaired hearing will need toys to stimulate language, such as puzzles that involve matching "finger-spelled" letters to appropriate pictures.

For more advice, visit the Council for Disabled Children website.