Playdates

Social-emotional and pretend

Play with you and with friends that builds connection, feelings words and the fun of taking turns.

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Compare the age ranges and time, then open a card for materials and instructions.

Age range: Under 6 months · 15 min

Invite another caregiver over and lay both babies on their backs on the same blanket, close enough to see each other. Sit alongside with a drink and let the babies look, kick, and squeak while you talk.

Age range: Under 6 months · 5 min

When your baby is awake and alert, hold them 8 to 12 inches from your face and wait. When they widen their eyes, open their mouth, or frown, make the same face back and name it softly, like \"Big eyes!\" Let them lead, and stop when they look away.

Age range: 6 months–3 years · 10 min

Prop your baby and a baby friend on a blanket facing each other, close enough to reach. Stay beside them and guide hands gently as they pat, stare, and babble at one another.

Age range: 6 months–3 years · 15 min

Set out two matching sets of simple toys and let your child and a friend play near each other, each with their own little pile.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Give your child and a friend a shared pot of bubbles and take turns blowing while the others chase and pop them together.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sit facing your toddler and do one simple move: clap, pat your knees, or wave. Wait to see if they copy, then do it again and try a new move. Copy their moves too.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Open a board book with a mirror page and ask \"who's that?\" when your toddler looks in. Make a big smile or a surprised face beside them in the mirror, wait for them to copy it, then copy whatever face they make back.

Age range: 1–2 years · 10 min

Sit two children facing each other with a soft toy and a light scarf. One child hides the toy under the scarf while the friend watches, then the friend lifts the scarf to find it. Swap jobs so each child gets to hide and to find.

Age range: 1–2 years · 5 min

When a friend arrives, kneel beside your toddler at the door, wave, and say hello with the friend's name. When it is time to go, walk them back to the door together and wave goodbye.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sit two children close together on a blanket with a basket of soft toys. Pick one up, say the friend's name, and help your toddler hold it out. Wait for the friend to take it, then swap roles.

Age range: 1–2 years · 10 min

Hold a hand mirror or sit in front of a low mirror with both children. Stick out tongues, smile, puff cheeks and wait for the other child to copy.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Hold up two things your toddler likes, such as a cup and a book, and name each one: \"cup or book?\" Wait for them to point, reach or try a word, then name what they chose and hand it over.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Set a few board books on a low shelf or in a basket where your toddler can see the covers. Let them pick one, carry it to you, and sit together to read. Rotate the choices every few days.

Age range: 1–3 years · 15 min

Give each child a toy stroller or push toy and line them up in a hallway or open room. Walk behind them, say go and stop, and let them follow each other up and down.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sit on the floor facing a friend and gently roll a soft ball back and forth, cheering each catch and return.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Set a large open cardboard box on a rug and sit two children inside it, one behind the other. Pick a pretend place to sail to, like an island or Grandma's house, and have them row together with their arms while you slide the box slowly across the floor. Call \"land ahoy!\" when you arrive and let them climb out to explore.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Sit in a small circle and sing a simple hello tune, adding each child's name in turn with a wave. Sing it again with a clap or a pat on the knee, so each child gets a turn.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Put on a slow song and hold your toddler on your hip or against your chest. Sway side to side, turn in a slow circle, and sing along or hum. Stop and start the music to see if they ask for more.

Age range: 1–3 years · 20 min

Set a shallow tub of water outside with two cups and a few big bath toys. Sit two children on either side, show them how to fill a cup and pour it into their friend's cup, then swap who pours.

Age range: 1–3 years · 20 min

Sit one child in a wagon with a seat belt and pull them a short way along a flat path. Stop and swap so the other child gets a turn, and wave to whoever is waiting.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Set up a short video call with a relative and prop the phone at your toddler's eye level. Let them wave, blow a kiss, or show a toy. Keep it brief and end with a wave goodbye.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Set out two upturned pots and a wooden spoon each so your toddler and a friend can drum side by side. Bang along with them for a while, then go quiet so they can hear their own beat.

Age range: 1–3 years · 20 min

Have each child carry armfuls or small buckets of fallen leaves to one spot. Build a single pile as a team, then take turns sitting in it while the others sprinkle leaves over their boots.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Gather two or three toddlers and their grown-ups in a circle. Hold hands or each hold a scarf, walk round in one direction while singing Ring Around the Rosie, and stop when you reach the end of the song.

Age range: 1–4 years · 20 min

Cut the top off a large box and tape on paper plate wheels and a steering plate. Sit your toddler inside, or beside it, and push it a few steps. Drive to the kitchen and park.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Put a teddy or doll at the table with a toy bowl and spoon. Show your toddler how to scoop and tip the pretend food to the teddy's mouth, then let them take over. Wipe the teddy's face when done.

Age range: 1–4 years · 5 min

Before a playdate, show your toddler a photo of the friend and say their name. Talk about one thing you might do together, like the slide or the blocks, and look at the photo again when the doorbell rings.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Sit a teddy or doll in a chair or on the sofa and hand your toddler a favorite book. Help them show the pictures to the teddy and say a word or two about each one, or just turn the pages for it.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Stand two children inside a large hula hoop, each holding it with both hands at tummy height, with a grown-up at the back as the driver. Walk slowly around the room singing a bus song, and stop at a \"bus stop\" to let someone choose where to go next.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Sit two children facing each other on the floor with a chunky toy car each. Roll yours to your friend, say go, and let them roll theirs back. Try a ramp from a cushion to change the speed.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Read a short goodnight book, then say goodnight to things in your room, like the lamp, the window, or the teddy. Let your toddler wave or blow a kiss to each one as you go.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Grown-ups and toddlers hold the edges of a light flat sheet. Lift it high and bring it down slowly, then drop a soft ball in the middle and shake together to make it bounce. Let the children take turns walking underneath, only while the grown-ups hold all the edges up high.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Sit in a small circle and put on a bouncy song. One child dances in the middle while everyone else claps, then the music pauses and the next child gets a turn. Grown-ups can dance in the middle too.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

At a playground toddler slide, line two children up at the steps. Say \"your turn\" as one goes down, then cheer for the friend who goes next. Wait together at the bottom until the slide is clear.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Set out two or three soft hats or scarves near a low mirror. Put one on your toddler, say \"hat!\" and let them look, pat, and take it off. Swap hats and name each one.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Bring a teddy, a small blanket, and a cushion for a bed. Show your toddler how to lay the teddy down, pull the blanket up, and pat gently. Say \"night night\" together and sing a short lullaby.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Two grown-ups face each other and join hands high to make an arch. Toddlers walk underneath one after another while everyone sings London Bridge, and on \"my fair lady\" the arch comes down gently around whoever is inside for a hug.

Age range: 1–3 years · 15 min

Fill a shallow basin with a little warm water and give each child a plastic doll and a washcloth. Pretend to wash faces, tummies and toes, and say what each doll needs next.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Draw eyes and a mouth on a clean sock with a marker, put it on your hand, and give the puppet a voice. Let your toddler wear it, and talk to it or make it sing, sleep or hop.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Set out a toy tea set on a blanket. Show your toddler how to pour into a friend's cup and pass it over, then wait while the friend takes a sip. Swap places so each child gets to pour and drink.

Age range: 1–3 years · 15 min

Put a lump of playdough in front of each child on a shared table. Poke, squeeze and roll it, and flatten a piece for each child to press a hand into. Talk about what their friend is making.

Age range: 1–4 years · 20 min

Set out a few toys or empty clean food boxes on a shelf as a shop. Take turns as shopper and shopkeeper, saying hello, asking for an item, and handing over a pretend coin or paper. Swap roles with your toddler and a friend.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Have two or three children sit in a row. Pass a beanbag from one child to the next, saying each child's name, until it reaches the end, then pass it back. Try a faster pass and a slow pass.

Age range: 2–5 years · 10 min

Lay a teddy on the couch and say that it looks sad. Ask your child what it might need, then help them try it, such as a blanket, a pat, a song, or a quiet cuddle. Say how the teddy looks now.

Age range: 2–5 years · 10 min

Look at faces in a picture book or make your own faces in the mirror. Point to one and name it, like happy, sad, or mad, then ask your child to make the same face.

Age range: 2–4 years · 20 min

Spread a blanket on the floor and set out a simple snack for your child and a friend to enjoy together, passing pieces back and forth.

Age range: 2–6 years · 15 min

Set out a small bin of water and let your child wash a few toy dishes with a cloth.

Age range: 3–6 years · 25 min

Tip out a big box of blocks and build a pretend city with a friend — roads, towers, and a garage for the toy cars.

Age range: 3–6 years · 20 min

Pick a puzzle your child can nearly manage and sit nearby while they work on it. They ask for help only if they are stuck, and then you point to one area instead of placing the piece.

Age range: 3–6 years · 30 min

Set up paper for two side by side and let your child and a friend paint their own pictures, sharing the same pots of color.

Age range: 3–6 years · 15 min

Take turns being the leader with a small group of children, marching, hopping, and stretching while everyone copies the moves.

Age range: 3–6 years · 5 min

Pick a regular moment, like after daycare or before bed, and ask how your child feels today. They can answer with a word, a face, or by pointing to a picture. Share how you feel too, and accept whatever they pick.

Age range: 3–6 years · 10 min

After a squabble, once everyone has calmed down, help your child say sorry in their own words, without pushing if they are not ready yet. Then ask what could make it better, like handing back the toy, rebuilding the tower, or offering a hug, and let the other person say yes or no. A no is fine too.

Age range: 3–6 years · 5 min

Sit together and breathe in slowly through the nose as if smelling a flower, then blow out slowly as if blowing out a birthday candle. Hold up one finger as the candle so there is something to aim at. Do three rounds when everyone is calm, so it feels familiar when a day gets bumpy.

Age range: 3–6 years · 15 min

Sit with one parent or sibling and take turns picking what to play next, such as a song, a ball roll, or a drawing game. Say whose turn it is each time and play the pick before swapping.

Age range: 3–5 years · 15 min

Take turns with a friend adding one block at a time to a shared tower, seeing how tall you can build it together before it topples.

Age range: 4–6 years · 25 min

Hide a handful of small toys around the room, then send your child and a friend to find them all as a team and count them up together.

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