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Sensory Play for Toddlers
Can You Smell It? Part Four
By Laura Cone
Banana chunks, cinnamon sticks, peanut butter, coffee grounds and onions also make good choices for toddlers who can close their eyes and guess what they are smelling inside the jars.
Another game for 12- to 24-month-olds is to identify smells around the house. "Take your child for a walk around your house and identify the different smells in your house," Silberg says. "You would just be amazed by what you could find. It makes the child more aware of his environment."
She says your toddler should notice the kitchen has distinct smells such as the smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. "Give them descriptive words and let them tell you what odors fit into the words," says Silberg.
Children who develop their sense of smell enjoy pleasant scents and recognize danger such as the smell of smoke. "All of these things are also developing literacy, listening skills, language skills, cognitive skills, motor skills, social skills, all the developmental skills important for toddlers," says Silberg, adding that toddlers learn through play. "You could tell a child something 50,000 times, but when they play it and experience it, then they understand it."
Parents can help their toddler understand that some things are the same and other things are different by comparing smells. For example, hold a piece of lemon under your toddler's nose and then give him a piece of pineapple. "Then you let them taste the lemon and pineapple," she says. "What are you really doing besides exploring the sense of smell? You are developing their sense of difference and the same."