NOW CLOSED: Win a £100 Argos voucher by telling Chad Valley your tips for toddler play

[AnnMumsnet]

Chad Valley want to hear from you about how your toddler plays - in particular how you (or your child's carer) encourage imaginative play, and how you get them to play by themselves? Do they do role play (have you ever "heard" yourself through your child? or does a sibling get bossed around and told to be a certain character? ) - what are their favourite games to play by themselves (maybe when they think you're not looking?!)?

Please share your top tips and stories on this thread - everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £100 Argos voucher.

We'll use a selection of your tips and stories on the Chad Valley pages on Mumsnet.

Many thanks
MNHQ

When my son (2) first gets a new toy I stay back and see how he plays with it first. He usually like to show me how the toy works and what he can do with it. If after a while he has not worked everything out I will ask if I can look at the toy then show him how to do more with it. When he starts to lose interest I will then encourage him to use the toy with other items he plays with. This has resulted in lots more imaginative play as he know will look himself to see if different toys like animals, cars, food and people can interact in his little world of fun. We do get some silly combinations but it is all in the name of fun and learning.

Mine (3) loves building blocks - we started with some (appropriately!) Chad Valley wooden blocks in a tub, then moved on to Duplo/Megabloks and we are now on proper Lego. He loves it. He'll build spaceships and aeroplanes and trains and hangars for the planes... left to his own devices he'll build something and come and proudly show us what he's done!

He also loves painting/scribbling so we lay out paints and coarse paper (local art shop is quite reasonable) and he can paint when he wants to.

He's always pretending to be a vehicle of some sort or other! (Bathing a digger can be fun... :)

My son is 23 months and has always had a very interesting imagination. With just a little bit of encouragement and shown how to imagine that even something as simple as a snake sock can produce hours of role play and encourage speech development.

I like to show with each toy the things they would do if they were real. For example a toy aeroplane I would make the noises and fly it through the air and let him have a try. Then his imagination does the rest. He will test his vocals out he will get his arms moving to see if he can fly it.
Another example: animals and cuddly toys make the noises; I showed my son what food they might like to eat from the play kitchen. The rabbit would like a carrot. After that the possibilities of role play alone are endless.

I will say it is always easier to leave any child content playing role play with other children. As each child has a different imagination to the next. They may have been shown something different that the rabbit eats like lettuce for example. Sharing their own little ideas between one another. Encourage positive games to play either with other children or alone, let them feel like they are helping. When you need to get the washing out of the machine, let them help. You never know soon you may have a little help around the house and less arguments about what they are and aren't allowed to play with.

His favourite games to play are sneaking teddy a pretend spoon full when he thinks I'm not watching and he loves to make pretend food for his toys and sometimes I even get offered some.

Where would us tired hard working mums be without the power of imagination?

DS1 has never really been into imaginative play or role play. I'm not very good at imaginative play either, so that may be part of the reason. Although he used to enjoy making pretend cups of tea with unusual ingredients so that I would spit them out in disgust. In general he'd rather play on the Wii, read a book or play a board game.

Now that DS2 is old enough to play as well, the two of them are great at playing by themselves, even though there's a four year age gap between them. They love to play chase or hide and seek.

Ds suddenly acquired imagination a few months ago (2.5). Suddenly I would hear 'I'm Igglepiggle. I'm in my boat' on the bed, and the favourite - building imaginary snowcastles on the white kitchen floor. He's a perfectionist and often has a strop when trying to build or draw but building imaginary things is a great hit! Plots of the Numberjacks, other CBeebies and all his books feature highly and there's a lot of rewriting history "I saw Father Christmas at nursery. I NOT scared!" - yeah right, he was terrified for hours!

Ds and dn (same age) will pretend anything is a boat - the Sainsburys sturdy elephant bags are great as they survive children much better than most boxes. I ask them the odd question but otherwise leave them to it.

DD is 3 and has always had a really active imagination. It's changed from actively parroting stuff (mostly from me, sometimes with embarrassing results!) say and do, to her own variations. It works best if I follow her lead, rather than setting her up with an activity. She played a whole tea party game with some stones in the garden, but not so interested in playing with the actual tea set, which she used as something to put put fires, somewhat oddly

My DD loved playing at being Iggle Piggle in my laundry basket with a teatowel for a blanket.

When my two were toddlers I filled their old baby bath with luke warm water, put it in the garden by the kitchen door and they'd play out there for hours, just pouring water from one cup or sieve to another. They never got bored of it. Meant I could get on with the laundry or cooking at the same time. They looked very cute, and only came trotting back inside for top ups of hot water when it got cold. Most of my photos of them from that age are of them in Bob the Builder hard hats, nappies, soggy vests and wellies, grinning with toy watering cans in their hands.

DS is 19 months. Plays by himself for 5 mins at a time.

He likes real life things more than toys eg in the garden he'll water the plants and help plant seeds.

He loves balls in all sizes! Happily kicks one about outside.

To encourage him to play, I let him copy me or help, so putting shopping away he'll take some bit and take it to the cupboard. If I'm vacuuming, he'll take the attachments and do some himself. Washing up - I stand him on a chair while he splashes about in the sink.

Toy wise - as said above he likes balls. Also push along trolleys etc and his ride on trike. Plus wooden chunky puzzles and cars and figures and trains. He'll do the puzzles, drive the cars and puts the figures in his play farm house. He also likes to clomp around the house in our shoes

sounds obvious but a big dress-up box, we have collected so many bits of old clothes, props and costumes that my son can run from the program he's just watched and play out the scenes afterwards, great for those with really vivid imaginations and there is no need to buy expensive costumes, a set of plastic tools from a comic, attached to daddy's belt is just as good for a game of handy manny!

My daughter used to line up her teddies and boss them around - a good way to find out what had gone at at nursery as she invariably mimicked it. Her younger brother would either be roped in or copy her - we even bought him his own toy buggy (in navy blue!). They never needed much encouragement, they just chunnered away to their assorted toy creatures/characters/teddies. We didn't use to watch that much TV, and they got bored with it easily, so that helped.

i enjoy letting my children play with chalks and draw all over our drive. they get to draw what they want and also get to have a close up look at all the little creepy-crawlies that live there. i'm trying to develop a relaxed curiosity of mini beasts as i'm terrified of them and don't want to pass on my fear to my children.

My son will play by himself at his kitchen for absolutely ages, I love it. When hes at his kitchen and he is playing, I will ask him what he is making for dinner and he will say what he is pretending to make, and he will bring me a cup of pretend tea to drink or pretend food to eat.

DS1 used to like making 'dens' and playing in his little house in the garden. he also had a pop up castle tent, but most of all he liked the den I used to make him with an old sheet and pegs!

Oh and drawing on garden fence and patio with chalks. Whacking the washing line repeatedly with a stick is still a favourite at nearly 6 yrs old!

My son (18 months) is not the best sleeper in the world.

He often decides, while lying down, that he wants to play some more and jumps up and tries to hoist himself over the cotside. This is usually met by my husband or I firmly saying "lie down" and gently lying him down.

Last week, after a few rounds of this, he lay in bed stroking his teddy saying "sssh, ssh" before making teddy stand up. "Aye ow!" he said, in (my) most commanding voice. "Aye OW!"

DD1 is 2.2 and didn't really start to play by herself until DD2 came along (now 7 months) and DD1 no longer monopolised all my attention!

When she started playing by herself, it was mostly sorting games - putting things into her toy car, for example, and then pulling it along to somewhere different and taking them out, then starting all over again. She has now progressed onto more imaginative play, such as pretending to breastfeed her doll! I have overheard her talking to toys in her cot when she is settling or just waking from sleep, and telling them to go to sleep.

She loves cars, bikes and an old Fisher Price garage that we found in a charity shop - it's got a lift and a ramp and makes 'vroom' noises when you push a car over it.

The best way to get her to play by herself is to have a few toys within easy reach for her to get out by herself. If things are already out on the floor, she doesn't seem as interested as when she has to go and get them. She will also amuse herself for ages with books - some we have read so many times ('We're going on a bear hunt' anyone?!) that she talks herself through them, and sometimes reads to her sister/toys.

Recently we've been sorting out the garden, and she has been wanting to water the plants and brush the patio by herself. She likes copying things that I do, like cooking and dusting (not that I dust very often...).

We don't have a TV, but there is usually some music on, so she loves dancing, especially if she's managed to dress up first!

I have a 3 yr old girl and a 17 month old boy. The 3 yr old will play happily by herself most of the time. She likes dressing up in a pair of beige tights ( rapunzel hair) and a couple of long dresses and she pretends to be princesses of various sorts. She also likes playing with her stuffed animals/dolls and pretends to be a vet/doctor. I provide her with a box containing a couple of bandages, a pretend plastic stethescope and real plasters. My son is more difficult to occupy safely for long periods of time as he quite likes to climb anything in sight, however he will play with the toy kitchen and bang and clatter plates etc and will also feed his teddy. He has a bit of a hat fetish and will spend a good 20 mins going through a box of assorted hats and scarves - he likes trying them on and then looking in the mirror, which I don't remember my daughter ever doing at this age. They both like it if I make them dens using blankets and a clothes horse and chairs.

I tend to leave them to make up their own games. My son loves copying my daughter and just potters about after her. She likes to pretend to be mummy and bosses him around...I hear my phrases coming out of her mouth all the time. She also 'reads' him bedtime stories before attempting to put him to sleep on a blanket on the floor, this quite often results in rough and tumble whereby he resists and they end up play fighting instead. It is quite a noisy household with the two of them but is very good fun most of the time.

The other d ay I heard my son pretending to be me with a 'yes charlie@ responsebfrom his toy! He has a toy kichen and cars and 'little people' available at all times, then things like blocks and trains and aquadraw he can get out once we've tidied some space. Not very good at structured play like at nursery he is happy with freeform or making household things into playtime.

Playing Teachers, prince and princesses, mums and dads ... Teachers was always probably their favourite

My tip is to provide 'lots of' an item - so lots of blocks or pine cones or conkers. My 2yo son has been playing with a box of candles this morning - tipping into boxes and wrapping up then unwrapping. Both of them (him and the 5yr old) are delighted when I buy a new pack of nappies and play for ages, making bridges and towers and paths and tracks!

Lots of great ideas on this thread. Thank you. I'll be trying loads of them out. My dd is 13 months and is not great at being left, but she loves her 'Tuff Spot' and it can buy me enough time to make dinner if I put something exciting in it. You can get them from some DIY shops as origionally they were for mixing cement! Now as many Nurseries and Reception classes use them you can get them from the internet in exciting colours. (About £9) You can buy sheets to put in the bottom to make it look like roads for toy trucks to run on or dinosaur habitat etc. I think someone has written a book of ideas but as my dd is a bit small for this these are all plans for the future. For now it is great filled with messy play activities like cornflour and water, rice crispies and cooked spaghetti (in garden). It reduces the mess from her art work and makes an ideal paddling pool as she can crawl in and out without my help (closely supervised of course).

I'm convinced that playing by themsleves or not is nature, not nurture. I have 2 dd's and the eldest still requires adult input at almost 4 years of age, while the younger one of 14 months plays by herself for ages and actually throws a strop if I join in when it's not required. And no I have never pandered to the eldest and given her more attention than her sister. I have actively encouraged both of them to play by themselves from a young age.

Both love imaginative play, copying what they see around them, i.e cooking, cleaning, dressing up, but dd1 is very bossy and tells me, dh and dd2 what we are supposed to be doing. even though dd2 has no clue what she is saying. Frequently hear myself and dh in dd2, she is very vocal and sounds really patronising sometimes when she talks to us, but she is only repeating what we say to her or dd2.

Dd2 is turning into a mini me, she can't talk much yet, but actions speak louder than words and it is scary to see how much like me she is already. She often plays with stuff that is supposed for older children, that her sister would not have had the benefit of like a toy cooker and toy computer.

I encourage imaginative play through providing a good range of toys and not directing their play to much. If they want to use a golf club as a walking stick or a horse, or a box as a hat or a boat, so be it. I join in with their tea parties even if dd2 does insist on making me drink directly out of the kettle, into which she has dropped play toast and is stirring with a fork!

Both really love rough and tumble type games especially with each other and playing together on the trampoline, even though I cringe when watching them as I'm sure they are going to hurt each other, there is usually lots of giggles and the thing most likely to cause tears isn't them hurting each other, but if one of them decides they don't want to play anymore. They both alos like chalk drawing on the easel.

Final observation, they always want to play with whatever the other is playing with!

If my DD needs distracting I'll ask her to "help" me. She's then happy to pick up leaves / draw a picture / whatever because she thinks she's helping me. Works every time.

DD loves her dolls, something which I had no interest in as a child and something which I have never actively encouraged. But she is never without a doll or stuffed toy.

Since the arrival of DD2 she has been understandably neglected left to her own devices a lot more. This had forced encouraged more role play and I have overheard some immensely cute playing: 'Do you want more booby?'; 'One, two, three - boo!'; 'Have you done another poo?'; 'Oh dear, what's wrong?'.

I am often to be found cowering behind doors sniggering softly to myself