Independent Activities for 12 Month Olds

Many first time parents do not realize that even very young children can amuse themselves independently. With independent activities they can learn important skills such as hand-eye coordination, creative thinking, and problem solving. Here are some fun activities that children around one year old can do without parental interaction.

1.  Peek-a-boo – You would not think that the facial recognition game could be played alone, but with a little creativity it can be. Paste photos of family members on a lid or other flat cardboard piece. Attach flaps of material to cover the photos. The baby can lift the flaps to see the picture and then cover them back up.

2. Treasure Basket – Fill a box or basket with child-safe products, not toys. Things like ribbons, hair brushes, soft balls, empty bottles and large sea shells. The baby can have fun taking each one out and trying to figure out what they are. They may try to put the ribbon in the bottle, listen to the sea shell and comb their hair.

3. Nesting Objects – Plastic mixing bowls and measuring cups make for a fun and easy to create activity. Babies will love to take out every piece and then try to put them back together in the right order. It will not always work, but it will teach them concepts like spatial recognition.

 

Abc Blocks clipart from Clker.com

4. Cupcake Tin Sorting – This is another easy to create activity. Give the child a cupcake tin and various small (but not dangerous) objects to sort into the tins. Empty toilet paper rolls work well as do plastic Easter eggs. You can also substitute an empty egg carton for the cupcake tin.

5. Threading – Threading can be a great test of children’s hand-eye coordination. For very young children, pipe cleaners work well because they are colorful and stay stiff. Have them thread the pipe cleaners through a bottle with holes in it, a colander, or other objects with holes.

6. Magnets – Babies love to play with magnets. This is a great activity for when you are cooking in the kitchen. Large alphabet magnets at the bottom of the refrigerator will keep baby busy and happy and in your sight.

These are just a few of the ideas for independent activities for your one year old. Children can learn a great deal from independent play and it also gives you a chance to get things done.

Guest post by Paul Taylor. Paul and his wife Julie both spend quite a bit of time coming up with ideas, blogging, and researching all things related to childcare. They take care of all the necessary information related to “babysittingjobs.com/”. He personally thinks his blog will help finding information on all things related to a babysitter.