what’s saving us this summer? 5 Summer Essentials for Toddler Parents
Last Updated: August 30, 2024
It’s warming up! For our friends in the Northern Hemisphere, this means that we are officially in it—the dog days of summer:
Days of park hopping, family vacations blocked out on the calendar, the pitter-patter of feet at the splash pad, little helping hands in the garden, summer sports leagues, rosy cheeks, the sweet relief of air conditioning (if you know, you know).
Whatever it looks like for you and your family, we are here for you and cheering you on. These summer days can get longgg. Perhaps you are feeling some pressure to maintain a routine, or maybe day-to-day life is feeling like a balancing act.
We are in it with you! So we wanted to share five things that are saving us this summer in hopes you might find them helpful too.
#1 BOOKS
Reading books with your little one is a great way to slowwww down a bit this summer.
Reading with your child starting at an early age helps foster their love of books, reading, and learning
Positive experiences with books early on in life helps them to build a strong foundation for learning to read. In fact, nurturing a love for reading is one of the best things you can do for your child’s language development. Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than three times per week (Denton and West, 2002).
If you feel discouraged because your little one is rather wiggly during story time, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Find our go-to tips and tricks here.
Three of our favorite summer reads for babies and toddlers
All of these titles are great for little ones. You can find more of our summer favorites over on Amazon or Bookshop.
Ice Cream Face >> Maisy Learns to Swim >> The Watermelon Seed >>
We hope you’ll grab a book and head outside (unless you’re in Arizona. In that case, grab a book and make a fort in the air conditioning).
#2 BUBBLES
This toy is a go-to for us when it comes to helping babies and toddlers communicate.
Here are a few reasons why bubbles are a speech therapist’s best friend:
bubbles captivate their attention
many of the words said while playing with bubbles are easier for toddlers to copy, say, or sign
bubbles encourage imitation skills (super important if your child isn’t saying words quite yet)
How bubbles to help children talk and communicate more:
Fun Sounds: Bubble play is full of simple sounds and words like Up, Pop, Bloooow, Uh oh, and Wee! These sounds can feel fun and silly, so toddlers find them particularly engaging. See more here
Gestures & Gesture Imitation: You can exaggerate certain gestures like BLOWING the bubble or POPPING the bubble. (If your little one isn’t yet able to blow or use their finger to pop, you could try bigger motor movements like stomping the bubbles or clapping the bubbles.) Making gestures is easier than saying words, so your child is likely to do these before they copy the words you say.
Initiation Communication: Because you, as the adult, will have control of the bottle of bubbles, it gives your child the opportunity to request—to practice using a word, sound, or gesture to make something happen. We want our kids to learn that their communication has power–that when they do something, something happens. This is a big moment when kids make this connection. Make sure to keep this fun and not to force it.
Practice Location Vocabulary: You could say things like, “Watch the bubbles go up, up, UP!,” “The bubble landed ON your head!,” or “There’s the bubble! It’s UNDER the chair.”
*Music is also a fun add to bubble play! We love this bubble song. It’s a fun one to sing while you’re playing.
#3 magna-tiles
This summer essential isn’t cheap, but we are not lying when we say it is SO WORTH it. Katie has had the same set of Magna-Tiles for nine years and they’re stillllllllllll going! And they grow with your child. When they’re 12 months, they can just explore how they stick together, and by three years old, they’re building magnificent creations!
So many learning opportunities with this toy:
Constructive Play: An early play skill that sets the stage for pretend play. Constructive play develops problem-solving, fine motor skills, and creativity.
Vocabulary for Basic Location Words: As your child creates, they’ll understand and (eventually) use words like: on, off, out, top, in, next to, etc. Location words are so great for starting to combine words together.
Introduces Academic Concepts: Such as color, shape, sorting, patterns, etc. The basic Magna-tile packs consist of squares, small triangles, and larger triangles, and come in a variety of basic colors.
As kids grow and develop, they’ll involve animal figures or dollhouse people in order to make their play more complex (ex: making a train for the animals, building a treehouse for Daniel Tigers’ family).
Like we said, Magna-Tiles are a bit pricey, but they are excellent quality and really do grow with your little one. They’re a great gift to ask for from grandparents! 😜 Your little one will be building all summer!
#4 SONGS+STORIES MEMBERSHIP
Depending on your geographic location as well as your childcare circumstances this summer, screen time may be way less or it might happen more often than normal. We aren’t here to judge the amount of minutes your child is watching television. We do believe however, that not all content is created equal when it comes to screen time.
That’s why we created our own “kid’s show” called Songs+Stories. It’s kind of like library story time, but on-demand and led by speech therapists (us!). It’s intentional screen time designed for children 18 months-4 years.
There are tons of songs, rhymes, and story time videos from a variety of different themes: animals, things that go, summer, potty training, and so much more! It’s perfect for parents who are intentional about what their kids learn, listen to, and watch!
Here’s what you won’t have to worry about when you join Songs+Stories:
X ads
X guilt about screen time
X suggested content popping up that isn’t appropriate
X quick camera changes
X annoying sound effects
X wading through content trying to find something good
X overstimulating backgrounds and graphics
X new episodes popping up when you’re not quick enough to turn it off
X algorithms designed to keep your child wanting more and more
X hard-to-tolerate voices and music that you kind of can’t stand
One thing that’s important to us is trying to facilitate a calm, nurturing, and peaceful environment for our kids. Songs+Stories is alllll the good vibes you’ve been looking for.
**PLUS, we just added a brand new podcast for kids (for Songs+Stories members only). If you need some screen-free entertainment this summer, the podcast certainly fits the bill!
“You brighten our days!! Thank you so much for this platform! He has come so far!!” —Jenn K, mom of a toddler
#5 WATER TABLE
A water table is obviously great for staying cool in the heat, but there are SO many language opportunities, too.
We’re big fans of using the things you’re already doing to help your little one talk and communicate more. And a water table fits nicely into that sentiment. Words truly are everywhere!
Things to try out:
Get face-to-face with them
Notice their interests and talk about those things
Use repetitive phrases in play like ready, set, GO!
Repeat the words several times during play or daily routines
PAUSE and give them a chance to try
Use an animated voice & have fun!
Try words that are easier to imitate like “uh-oh!” “whoaaa” “weee”
Give positive praise for attempts
…Or just sit back and watch them play! As always, these are ideas that help promote communication skills.
happy summer!
So there you have it! Our five go-to summer essentials for parents of toddlers.
Happy summer, friends! Hope you’re finding a bit of a rhythm and fitting in some fun during these warm months.
In it with you,
Katie+Carly
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