Your child's "best" toy

This week, I’ve provided ideas on simple ways to engage your child with items easily found in any environment.  To end the topic this week, I want to focus on the best, absolute greatest “toy” your child has access
to.  This “toy” is key to their development.  This “toy” has a significant impact that no other “toy” can ever compare to.  The “toy” is you.  YOU are your child’s great toy.  By interacting with you, they are developing the skills they
need to thrive.  At the end of the day, it often feels exhausting to be a parent to a little one.  They have a lot of needs, but here is what I recommend – find 15 minutes of just you and your child time – no phones, no television, no other toys - nothing but just the two of you.  Talk, make faces, dance, wrestle gently, sing … use only your face, body, and voice as your tools to interact.  That’s how you give your child the “big advantage in life.”  It starts and ends with you.  ~Marena Mitchell, Speech-Language Pathologist