When children play in pairs it can help develop their social skills. They learn to share, take turns, and solve problems together. Also, as children begin to play in pairs, it helps to prepare them when they partake in group play. There are numerous benefits for children playing in pairs. However, it is not just about children sharing toys or playing tag outside together, there are plenty of fun activities that children can do in order to develop other skills that involve active and pretend play. Parenting.com has great examples of fun activities for children to play in pairs:
- Classic games: Play games like Simon Says, Hot Potato, or charades to get the laughs going and the creativity ignited.
- Dress up: Pull out all old clothes, Halloween costumes, and accessories for the kids to try on. They can even act like a silly character based on what they are wearing. Have the children guess what one another is such as a hippie, if they have a lot of beads and big sunglasses on.
- Cooking: Cooking can be a lot of fun, giving each child a duty to complete such as mixing or adding ingredients to the bowl. It can also be a messy activity. If you want the activity to be less messy, have the children interact in a play kitchen and ask them to work together to create a pretend meal.
- Let’s act: Ask the children to put on a show and give them household items such as a ladle, towels, shower caps, hats, ect. Give them time to prepare and capture the memories with camera or camcorder once they are ready for show time.
- Agree to Disagree: If the dynamic duo cannot agree on an activity or toy to share, have the children say activities they would like to do. Write the options down on little pieces of paper and draw an activity from a hat. Each child can grab one piece of paper from the hat and do the activities in order.
What tips do you have for having children play in pairs?
