The Mom I Want to Be

 

Toddlers use play to explore and learn about the world. By encouraging your toddler to engage in active play, you’re helping him develop a natural curiosity about how things work. Two-and three-year olds thrive on unstructured play such as running, swinging, climbing, playing in a sandbox, and carefully supervised water play. By age two, your toddler should be able to jump with feet, skip, and run. By age three, your child should be able to change directions (from left to right, from forward to backward) comfortably.

 

Although there are a number of fitness programs to introduce toddlers to water activities and gymnastics or even to get them started in peewee leagues, you should carefully investigate these programs to make sure they are safe as well as appropriate for your child’s age and development.

 

Most children this age are not developmentally ready to play in organized sports or to be involved in competitive activities. If your child doesn’t want to participate in an activity for any reason, don’t force your child. Try to find out if your child has any fears or reasons to be reluctant to join in the play. If necessary, postpone the activity and try it again in a few months or years.

 

The best fitness program for your toddler is to plan a time for your family to do some sort of exercise together daily or weekly. Take a winter walk and as you exercise, discover how snow changes the outdoors. Look for bird feeders in town. In the woods look for tracks animals make in the snow.  There are other kinds of exercises that everyone can do together. Toe touches, rolling side to side, sit-ups, and waist turning can be good for all ages and abilities. Let your toddler do them the best way he can. Make exercise fun for the whole family.