From our archive: this post was first published in 2018 under our Guest Blog byline, before we stopped accepting guest posts. The Mom Store reviewed it in October 2026 for accuracy and safety and updated parts of it. It shares one parent's experience and is not medical advice; for questions about your health or your baby's health, please talk to your doctor or paediatrician. Read our editorial policy.
My son will turn fifteen months old in a few days. In the last couple of weeks, he has taken a huge leap in his development. Although he cannot speak a lot of things but he definitely understands a lot and knows exactly what he wants.
Kids in this age are distracted with the screen. So when kids make unreasonable demands or when they throw tantrums for not getting what they want, parents distract them with screen as that’s the most easy way to divert their minds from the thing they want. This happens the most at the time of their meal as kids do not want to sit and eat, so parents give them iPad or show them something on their phones or just turn on the Television, so that they finish off their food fast. What as parents we don’t realize is, it is that gradually we are making our child more and more addicted to screen each time we offer them the screen to make them do things we want them to do and hence get trapped in this viscous cycle.
Parents are child’s first teacher and so unlocking our child’s full potential is our responsibility. Trying it myself here are some skill developing Maria Montessori inspired things you can easily do at your home and stop your child from becoming screen zombie.
Books
Books play a vital role in moulding delicate minds of kids. Introducing books in an early age is always an advantage in developing their interest towards the world of books. There are variety of books available for various age groups, like books with big and bright images, sound and light books which helps them to relate things, books with short moral stories, books with different textures so that babies can touch and feel how different things are from each other.
Motor Skill Activities
Kids are a power house of energy and channelizing their energy in right direction is very important for their development. Simple activities like sorting shapes and sizes, threading large beads, playing with blocks, making things from clay, moving things from one basket to another, or tearing paper can be given to kids, always under close supervision and with items too big to fit in the mouth. The above activities makes them more creative, focused and also develops their fine motor skills.
Messy play
Children love to mess with things and get dirty, so let them. Giving them something from your kitchen like a juicy fruit or vegetable like tomatoes can be fun too. You can hide large toys in a bowl of uncooked rice and let them search while you sit with them. By placing some lemons in water tub and let them take it out with a strainer. Give them water and brush to paint on black board which you can colour it before hand with chalks and see master pieces being created. Taking them to the garden to explore nature, textures and flowers, and letting them play in grass and sand, is a lovely way for them to learn.
Play Station
You can create your own play station with furniture at home. Placing some sturdy boxes, cushions or a small chair on the floor to create height variations lets them crawl or walk up and down while you stay close by. For kids its an adventure and they feel happy when they succeed at completing the tasks which increases their confidence in early age of doing things on their own.
Hence by doing these practical life activities, it will not only keep them away from screen but will also develop their skills and lay early foundation of learning in their life.
Thank you for reading and do share other such activities if you have in comments below and help our toddlers to grow strong and smart.
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