Don't be surprised if a toddler also enjoys playing with the empty basket

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Hatching easter basket ideas for young toddlers is no easy feat

Toddlers—children ages one to three—are a strange bunch. They who are learning to walk or who already are constantly, if haltingly, in motion are of the age when they are enthralled by some things and terrified by others. Their changeability is a chronic dilemma for adults who want to give presents to the little tykes, especially on child-friendly holidays such as Easter. The wee ones look forward to easter baskets bulging with goodies. What kind of goodies? That’s what takes some thought. Easter basket ideas for toddlers sometimes are hard to come by. In fact, really great easter basket ideas for toddlers may result in overworked brains—brains owned by elders who want to take no chances on inspiring anything short of delight. Safest are the ideas that most certainly will lead to smiles. Most toddlers will enjoy a basket whose contents include more than chocolate eggs. Think creativity. Think about including markers, finger paints and educational toys. Kids love a selection of learning toys and adults welcome activities based on something other than eating chocolate.

Offer some opportunities for mental challenges

Easter basket ideas for toddlers may flow more freely if one thinks in categories. Various facets of toddlers’ personalities reflect their progress in mental, physical and social developments. There’s no reason at all that easter basket ideas for toddlers should not reflect a plan to acquire a few items that will enhance one, two or all three of those categories. Certainly, go ahead and make chocolate eggs a part of the basket. Then, set up a toddler-size work bench and put into the basket a variety of games, puzzles and other mentally stimulating components. Easter basket ideas for toddlers come more easily if one focuses on activities the child enjoys all year around.

• Add some pencils imprinted with the child’s name
• Add some wooden blocks bearing letters of the alphabet
• Add some small plastic animals such as lions or dinosaurs
• Add a box of at least a dozen sticks of sidewalk chalk

Toddlers learning to walk—and those who recently have mastered ambulation—are into everything. They walk in short steps, intent on learning to explore their world. They lurch from the couch to the chair and back again, sometimes collapsing backwards with a thump on their bottom. Those a bit more in control seem to fly. For them, it’s important that easter basket ideas for toddlers lean toward physical activity. The experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) note some milestones in an informative ages-and-stages breakdown of children’s skills. They too note toddlers will advance quickly in physical skills, social skills and mental skills. Easter basket ideas for toddlers can make use of the AAP guidelines by tucking into the basket some items that encourage physicality.

• Include a few rubber balls of varying sizes
• Include some bean bags to encourage throwing skills
• Include a water gun and some circular targets
• Include a bright, wide ribbon, and then stage a race

Offer some items that help with socialization

Easter basket ideas for toddlers may lead to the acquisition of some items that will enable the child to interact more confidently with others of the same age—and with older people. Think about the stocking stuffers for kids that caused so much delight during the holidays. Find some similar items. Toddlers are at the age when they find imitating the behavior of others can be fun. They also develop a sense of self and may find delight in claiming various things in the room. Sharing is a trait that can be encouraged at this stage of a child’s life. Easter basket ideas for toddlers may combine usefulness with gift-giving. Some help with socialization is achieved by including in the basket some items that will generate social activity.

• Add a pair or two pairs of hand puppets and stage a show
• Add two simple marionettes so the child can work with a partner
• Add some flash cards imprinted with numbers, and take turns
• Add a book of nursery rhymes, and then have a group recitation

Easter basket ideas for toddlers become more abundant as more thought is given to the topic. Plan ahead. Take a second look at the types of toys, games and activities the child loves best. Fill the easter basket with colorful, intriguing and challenging items, along with plenty of chocolate. But don’t be surprised when the toddlers at your house decide their favorite play toy is a simple one—the easter basket that has been emptied, turned upside down and used as a hat.