Author: Lynette van Wyk

1.  Balloon (Volley) Ball: Blow up a red balloon. Create a net with a piece of rope across the passage – one or two scarves might be safer. Let the family members stand on different sides of the net. Now have a lovely game of volley ball by trying to hit the balloon over the net.  The net should be about as high as the shortest family member. Try not to become too competitive as this might result in tears.  Rather have lots of fun and laughter. Not only will you all have some good cardiovascular exercise, but it will help the adults to release a lot of tension, it will help the toddlers to offload some of their energy and it will develop eye-hand coordination as well as team work.  It might just also help to whet a good appetite.  Have fun!
2.  Streamer Trial: Create a trail by using a streamer and make it go over, under, around into and out of different pieces of furniture around the house, for example:  around the coffee table, then underneath it, over as plastic chair, through a kitchen chair, down the passage, into the bath…  Let your imagination lead you, but keep it safe as well as exciting. It’s going to be so much fun if Dad is the leader and the rest of the family members follow him along the trial. After a few trial runs, a toddler of about three years old could try and do the trail themselves.  Chances are good they will just copy your efforts.  Have running commentary when for example dad is too big to go underneath the kitchen chair.  This creates a lot of spatial awareness.  The fun might all be so much more worthwhile if you have a lovely picnic afterwards.  Just keep it healthy.
3. Polystyrene Music: Keep all your polystyrene containers.  Wash them and keep them until you have about 15 – 20 different ones.  Now put them all upside down on the floor and put some lively rhythmical music on.  I love using Ipi Tombi.  Everyone must now join in and have a good polystyrene dance by stamping onto the upside down containers – excellent for all that stored up energy as well as for eye foot coordination.  It creates a lot of noise as you stamp onto it.  When all the containers are smashed, bring along the dustbin and put it in the middle of the floor.  Let everyone join in and tear the polystyrene containers into little pieces.  This is excellent for hand eye coordination as well as for hand muscle development.  All the pieces must go into the dustbin.  The keyword should always beFUN.

When we were first pregnant, loads of advice was given.  The two that stuck out most to us was:

1. Never let your child loose their  ‘I CAN’.
2. Try to positively guide your child to be good and do the right things instead of always saying “No, don’t do that!”

My husband and I had loads of discussions on how we wanted to raise Millah and somehow those two things stuck like superglue.
Without even making the effort or even realizing consciously what we were doing, we always told her that “Millah CAN put her clothes on, Millah CAN hold her own botty, Millah CAN wash her hair …..”