When you have a child, you may be curious if they’re on the right path. Whether it’s with the toys they’re playing with or the activities they’re participating in, it’s natural to want to know if they’re appropriate for their age. The good news is that we’re here to clear the air.
In this guide, we take you through many of the various age appropriate activities for toddlers and adolescent children. While we’d love to get into teenagers and young adults, the activities in those ranges get a little unpredictable.
Age Appropriate Activities for Toddlers
First and foremost, we’ll start with toddlers. Once your baby has made the transition from doing pretty much nothing to playing with toys, crawling, and even walking, there are a handful of activities you can start to expect.
Playing With Toys
First and foremost, your toddler will likely start to play with toys once they’re around one to two years old. As they continue to grow, they’ll likely still play with toys, but their interests will evolve along with them. Common toys that children begin to play with during this stage include action figures, dolls, cars, and things with noises/bright colors.
Reading and Observing
Once your child is around one or two years old, you’ll start to notice that they’re a little more person-like. As in, they’ll begin to learn more about their surroundings, read books with pictures, and start to mirror behaviors.
You’ll also find that they’ll start to pick up on language and mimic some of your mannerisms. So, if you notice that your child is starting to mimic you or take an interest in reading, touching, and looking at their surroundings, this is totally normal.
Playing With Others
As your child begins to approach preschool age, you’ll find that they’ll start to play outside. They may also begin to learn about bugs, nature, and the world around them. If other children are around, your child will likely start to play with them too.
So, if you see them rolling around on your lawn, don’t panic, because it’s probably very normal behavior.
Age Appropriate Activities for School-Aged Children
Once your child is ready to go to elementary school, there are a handful of activities that they should be prepared for. They should have the skills necessary for complex crafts, like taping things together or building Legos, and they may even be able to start playing board games. Learn more about some of these age appropriate activities below.
Social Skills and Responsibility
Once your child is in school, they’re going to be around many other children. For this reason, they’ll likely need to interact with them socially. Whether this is through sports, secret handshakes, or choosing specific friend groups, this is all normal behavior.
Children with no friends during this time may need a little nudge in the right direction. What’s more, they should start to be able to take responsibility for their actions and know their right from wrong.
Developing Skills
During this time, children should also develop skills. Children should be able to craft items, play board games, and understand books and other forms of content. Math problems and other schoolwork should start to become easier, especially simple concepts.
Adolescents
Last but not least, you have adolescents. Age appropriate activities in this age range tend to vary significantly based on the child. In other words, children may have large groups of friends and play four sports, or they may have a closer circle and prefer reading and the arts.
Collaborative Activities
Once children reach the adolescent age range, you’ll find that they’ll be more likely to collaborate. Whether that’s in sports, on a stage, or in other areas of life, groups with different personalities will begin to form.
Children at this age will also be able to play more complex games with other children, like chess, and this will further improve their cognitive abilities.
Risk-Taking
During adolescence, your child will start to take more risks. Whether this is trying new foods or exploring the neighborhood, it’s something to keep an eye out for. This doesn’t mean that anything is wrong, and this is actually natural for them during this period of development.
Your child may also start to try new activities and become more independent, so keep this in mind.
Our Final Thoughts on Age Appropriate Activities
When it comes to age appropriate activities, you’ll find that there are tons of them. That said, if your child needs a new puzzle, board game, toy, or something else to help them play, we recommend getting what you need from reputable retailers, like American Toy Store. You never have to worry about quality, being priced out, or toxic chemicals being in the toys, puzzles, or games.
