Little ones don’t need elaborate activities and set up. Have you spent precious time setting up a fabulous play idea just to have your child dismiss it completely, leave after a few minutes, or use your pretty train tracks as a superhero costume (see exhibit A)?
That isn’t to say I don’t still set up play situations with a specific idea in mind because that is still valuable and important BUT 80% of my play time with the boys is led by their crazy little wild minds (see exhibit B)
When I suggest making cookies, do I think getting in the food tub and putting ketchup in my coffee pot is the first step?
NO.
But who really cares about making cookies when there is a perfectly good tub to play in. He has no interest in the food items themselves but throwing things out of it and having mom dump things on him is hysterical and AWESOME.
The play is not about me, it is all about him, his development, and, of course, LANGUAGE.
Language examples:
- Put in
- More in
- Throw
- Dump
- Oh no
- Ahhhhhh
- Kick feet
- On your head
So, embrace the crazy and nonsense. Your child is always going to be more interested in the way they want to play so you’ll get more attention and more “buy in” if you use whatever they are doing and dive right in.
Building Better Speech and Language 