Fun Games to Teach Body Parts for Your Toddler
Feb 3, 2022 Toddlers are balls of energy. And curious about the world around them and discovering their body parts, too. Teaching your toddler different body parts is a lot of fun when you can turn it into a game.
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When you incorporate learning through play you are meeting your child’s need to explore their world on their terms and in an engaging way. Also, you are developing their language skills by listening and following directions. And when your child plays the discovery game of body parts you are asking them to repeat the name of each body part using early forms of speech and cognitive learning.
When Should I Start Teaching My Toddler Body Parts?
Children as babies are learning from the day they enter the world. And so that’s when you begin talking to your toddler about parts when they are babies. Singing silly songs and pointing to their noses and hands. They will begin to recognize the names and repeat them or pointing to them even before they can speak. Most young toddlers will mimic movements like clapping their hands.
In other words, it’s never too early to start introducing kids to their bodies. As they grow, you just change the way you present it to them. One of the best ways you can do this is to help kids learn their body parts in the form of games.
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10 Fun Games to Help Teach Your Toddler about Body Parts
- Dig for parts sensory game: Depending on the age of your toddler, you can do this in two ways. For younger ones, you are going to take edible round fruit like blueberries or grapes. You can even make a pan of Jello as well if they decide to place things in their mouth, which of course they may do at this age.
Choosing a sensory bin, aluminum pan, or plastic bin you are going to load up the bin with enough fruit to cover the bottom and fully cover the body parts you are going to hide.
Next, print off and laminate a few pictures of body parts so that they are waterproof and edible proof. Choose very large pictures so that your child can’t swallow or choke on them. Ask your toddler to find you a body part and tell them what it is.
Toddlers love the element of surprise and picking things out. As your child ages or begins to speak you can then start asking them to find a specific body part. And to change it up use colorful orbeez to play the body part game. - Punch the cups: Using the same laminated body parts you created. Take paper cups from the dollar store and cover their tops with tissue paper. You can do this by wrapping the tissue paper around with a rubber band. Before you place the tissue paper on, hide the pictures inside them. Then have your child punch through the tissue paper and discover which body part they found.
- Find your body part: Lay your child on an old piece of cardboard or a long craft paper. You could even take pieces of paper together. Then take a marker and draw their outline. After your child stands up, have them point to different areas of their body. Let me draw and color their silhouette for extra fun.
- Roll the dice and find the part game: For this, you will want to get a big foam dice cube from Amazon. Then print out body parts on sheets of paper. You could laminate for future playtime.
On the opposite side of the picture write a number that is on the dice. Then have your child roll the dice. With all pictures facedown and numbers faceup. After your child rolls the dice, have them flip the picture to discover what body part is underneath. This fun game will also help them with math skills. - Play-Doh mats: Play-Doh mats are always fun. You can print out a blank face or body and laminate it. Using the Play-Doh, ask your child to make the body parts.
- Dotting game: Get some paint dotters and then create your own bingo game. You can easily find pre-made printables on this site. Then using the paint dotters, pull the name of the body part and tell your child to dot their card.
- Duplo blocks body part match: Toddlers love to build. And duplos are perfect for their little hands. You can print a picture of themselves or animals or other people. Then cut the picture into pictures and tape them to the blocks. Have your child try to build the body in the correct order. A perfect example of this can be seen here.
- Play peek-a-boo: The classic game of peek-a-boo can be modified in so many ways. A fun way to play is to say “peek-a-boo, I see your (name a body part).” As you touch your toddler, tickle them and say their body part.
- What do you see at the zoo?: Take your child to the zoo and have them look at all the animals. While you visit each animal, play the game ‘I spy.’ Saying I spy the monkey’s tail. I spy the elephant’s big ear. Then turn to your child and say “Can you show me your ear? Do you have a tail?”
- Pin the body part: Take a picture of your child and print it as large as you can. Lifesize would be ideal, but it doesn’t have to be. Then attach one picture to the wall or window. Using the other picture, cut it up into pieces. And using glue dots, have your child place the pieces of their body part to the picture on the wall. If they are really young then show them and do it together.
How Many Body Parts Should a 2-year-old Know?
When do babies learn body parts? By the age of 2 or 3, most kids will know their basic body parts such as legs and feet. They won’t yet know the different types of fingers or elbow vs. wrist. But for the most part, they should be able to know head-to-toe overall body parts.
Don’t underestimate the power of everyday activities when teaching your child to speak the names of their body parts. In the beginning, they may not be able to say the names of the body parts, but they may point to them.
As you get them dressed, bathe them, and so on, say the names of the body parts. For example: “It’s time to put your feet into your shoes. Let’s put your arms in your shirt.” This will also help increase their vocabulary as you are talking to them.
In conclusion, create positive connections with their bodies every day. By teaching your toddler to look at themselves in the mirror. Saying things like your strong arms helps you build. Your powerful legs are super fast. All simple ways to teach body parts to kids. But also helps promote body positivity. And appreciate the wonderful things our bodies can do.
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