Attention and Focus
Children make sense of their world and pay attention to what is happening around them through everyday activities. These Meaningful Moments help your child learn to focus, tune out distractions, remember the rules, and to stay engaged— important skills for life and learning.
Toes to Walk, Nose to Smell
For ages 0 to 2
While changing your child’s nappy, count their toes: "One little toe, two little toes… 10 little toes to walk." Try it with different parts of their body: "One little nose to smell, two little eyes to see…" Watch how they respond and mimic their sounds and faces back to them.
Laundry Load
For ages 1 to 3
As you load the clothes in the washing machine, let your child know what you're doing and ask them to help. "I am putting the white clothes in the washing machine so they will be clean. Can you help me find all of the white clothes? What about the dark clothes?"
Bathtime Sing-a-long
For ages 2 to 4
During bathtime sing your child's favourite songs. You can make up your own song about what's happening in the bath too. Are they pouring water from a cup, or pretending with a toy? Encourage them to sing their own song and respond to them.
Slow Motion
For ages 3 to 5
Challenge your child to move as slowly as possible to get somewhere, like to a nearby tree. How slowly can you both move? Try different ways to move, like by hopping or jumping.
Sentence Mixer Upper
For ages 3 to 5
Sometimes it can be fun to mix things up as you make statements like, "Your banana is blue. I wear shoes on my ears," or "This ice cream is hot." Give your child a chance to correct you and show how much they know before they take a turn mixing things up.
Food Finder
For ages 4 to 5
At the shops? Ask your child to find one orange, two apples, and three bananas (or any items on your list). As they bring them to the trolley, have them count out each item one by one. Take one of the items out and ask them how many are now left.
Looking for more moments?
The Bright Tomorrows app provides families more than 1000 tips and meaningful moments that are easy to do every day with babies and young children. Once you load the app, tailored moments backed by science, will be provided for you and your family to help your child’s development. The app will recommend special moments tailored for you and each of your children, based on age and interests.
