Toddler Week 98

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Following Directions

I’ve celebrated an uncommon milestone with all of my children: The first time when they took a wad of paper or a plastic wrapper from my hand and threw it in the dustbin because I asked them to. For me, this was a big step towards cooperative behavior and showed that they were able to listen and follow directions. Once your child is able to do this, she will learn very quickly to remember longer and more complicated directions. Playing games that require her to follow directions are very important during this phase of her development because:

  • It encourages cooperative behavior. It teaches her to carry out your commands and to help you with your work if she wants to.
  • It helps to develop her listening skills. As most parents know, there is a huge difference between hearing and listening. Following directions helps her to do both – hearing what you say and listening how to do what you are telling her to do.
  • It expands her vocabulary. A child cannot carry out a task if she doesn’t understand your words.. Make sure she knows what you are talking about when you ask her to do something.
  • It develops her imitation skills. Imitation is one of the basic steps in learning and showing your child how to follow your directions, helps her learn from your example.                                                                                                                                                          

Here are some games to play to encourage her to follow directions:

  • Play the classic game, Simon Says. Ask your child to put her hands on her head and then touch her nose or any other action involving her body. You can demonstrate the actions if she has difficulty following your verbal directions.
  • Ask her to give you directions to follow. Swap roles and let her tell you what to do while playing.
  • Incorporate simple directions in the daily chores that she helps you with. Our three year old daughter likews to pass the salt and the ketchup during meal times.

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