Ideas for playtime

Bolander asked experts for more advice and tips on playtime for parents and caregivers.

Badisa’s Erika Hougaard, from Badisa’s Little Seeds programme, referred parents to wonderful online resources such as, www.legofoundation.com and www.smartstart.org.za, for more valuable tips, ideas and advice to make playtime as fun and rewarding as possible.

Educational psychologist based in Stellenbosch, Karin Gerber offers the following ideas for playtime:

• Board games of varying degrees of difficulty such as snakes and ladders to monopoly

• Card games such as Uno, Rumi

• Hide and seek

• Building forts out of furniture or boxes

• Lego

• Dress up play

• Art – painting, drawing

• Doll play

• Mock fighting games such as pretend sword fighting (pirate pirate) or chasing games such as cops and robbers

• Exercising together – cycling together or parent jogs while child rides along on the bike

• Reading stories and making up own stories

• To make create a playarea at home, www.smartstart.org.za has some ideas:

• Create a fun, designated, desirable area for children.

• If you have limited space in the home, use a corner in a room.

• Make the space cosy and comfy with pillows, a rug or number mats on the floor.

• Organise toys in a way in which children can easily reach for it.

• Put books out on display and within reach of children.

• Decorate the walls with posters or drawings.

• Keep the play area clean and tidy, teach children to pack toys away and tidy up after playing.

• Always ensure that the space is safe for children.