Do what I’m doing! Copy your toddler as you play with them

What to try 

• When you’re playing with your toddler, watch them for a little while first (maybe count to 10 before joining in).  
• Copy their movements, gestures and actions when you join in.  
• Add to the movement, gesture or action to give your toddler some new ideas about how to play.  
• For example, if you’re both playing with a toy car, and your toddler is pushing it along and saying, “Brum...”, you could add a sound, like a squeal of brakes or honk of a horn.  

Good to know 

Copying others and being copied helps your toddler learn how people share ideas and the different ways these can be represented. Your toddler will learn that people share ideas through words, gestures, actions, and later pictures, numbers and letters. This lays the foundations for learning to read and write.