Boxes, lids and tubs – fantastic toys for your toddler

It’s often the simplest things that keep toddlers interested the longest – and a selection of boxes, tubs and lids (maybe with a few items to put inside) can entertain for ages. What’s even better is that playing with them is a brilliant workout for your toddler’s hands.  

Your toddler will probably master taking lids off containers before they can put them back on again; this is because placing a lid onto a box or tub involves positioning the lid and keeping the box still as they put the lid on.  

But even just taking a lid off a container is a tricky task! 

Your toddler will need to get the right grip to hold the lid while they pull it off and they might need to also hold the box or tub still.  

So, simply taking a lid off a box can help them practise using different grasps and builds on the skill of using one hand in one way and the other in another way (bilateral co-ordination).  

If the lid is a bit tricky to take off, your toddler might also get the chance to develop their persistence  

You could help with this by pausing before you help them and using your knowledge of your toddler to think about when they’re becoming too frustrated – help them before they get frustrated to give them just the right amount of help.  

Be ready for lots of repetition 

Your toddler will often want to practise things they find hard over and over; you might find they ask you to put lids back on, just so they can take them off again. 

For us as adults, this can sometimes seem a bit pointless – surely your toddler just needs to decide if they want the lid on or off – but from their point of view they are developing a tricky new skill, so it’s all good practice!