Playtime is anytime

Special places. A little imagination can turn familiar territory into an exciting new place for your child, a setting for imaginative play. Look for small, cozy places, like a tight corner, or under a desk. Children might enjoy bringing several toys and perhaps a snack on their visit to this new favourite spot. And don't forget to bring your torch!

For indoor play, turn an old bath mat into a magic carpet. Throw a sheet over a table to make a house. Drape a towel between two chairs for a secret hiding place.

You can also make special spaces outdoors. Throw a towel over two tall bushes that have a nice, usable space in between. Lean a sheet of cardboard from a large box against a tree for a great, child-sized sitting spot.

These homemade special spaces are great places for your child to play, either alone or with a friend.

Playing together. Getting together with friends - at your house or theirs - can be great fun for your children. Playing together and learning to share are important parts of life, but it takes children a long time to do this successfully. Both children may want the same toy at the same time, and they are too young to take turns. Your visitor may want to use the new truck your child just received for a birthday. Both children may dissolve into tears for no apparent reason. However, there are ways to help your child through this process.

If playtime is at your home, let your child choose a few special items that don't have to be shared. Put them a drawer to avoid problems. Let your child choose a few toys that will be shared with friends.

If you're the visitor, have your child bring a toy or two along. This way, the sharing won't be one-sided and each child has something to offer.

Plan a few neutral activities that don't involve one child's toys. Make a snack, play with plasticine, dance to music, or chase bubbles - all good ways for children to have fun together.

Bath time. The "no-purpose bath" is a great activity that two- and three-year-olds really enjoy, especially on a hot summer's day. This is a bath just for the fun of it and has nothing to do with getting clean. You don't need any soap - although all the ideas that follow work with a real bath, too!

Try seating your child in the tub before it's filled so he can feel the stream of water as it enters. Children love to feel the rush of water coming out of the spout, and to hold a bucket under it. Older children can blow bubbles in the water through bendable straws.

There are lots of objects you'll find around the house that will make bath time a much-anticipated event. Plastic containers, pitchers, and scoops are ideal bath toys. Poke holes in margarine tubs so children can make it "rain", use soap dishes as boats, and let children "paint" the tiles with a housepainting brush dipped in water. Be sure to bring plastic funnels and strainers, too.

Assemble a collection of inexpensive rubber ducks, boats, and dolls that are made especially for the bath. Make sure your child understands that there are special toys for the bath, and that not everything can go into the tub.

Dressing up. Very young children love to dress up in adult clothing and costumes. A dress-up box accessible to your child can provide some wonderful and satisfying playtimes.

Keep on hand old purses, hats, adult-sized shirts and shoes, scarves to tie around the waist, and old costume jewellery. The best costumes are usually the ones you make yourself, so add paper crowns, or make capes by attaching strings to old towels.

As your children move into the world of dramatic play, you can provide props for their inspiration: a yard or two of tulle from the fabric shop, feather boas, a toy firefighter's hat, or a pair of plastic sunglasses. Your child will take it from there.

Welcome the new cast of characters who will suddenly appear - kings, queens, astronauts, superheroes, mummies, and daddies.

Everyday objects. These items offer your child a stockpile of materials for creative activities. Milk cartons turn into building blocks. Cereal boxes become drums. Add scissors, tape, glue, ond paints, and you and your child can be artists, builders, and designers together.

Keep on hand a box filled with many of these items, so you always have something from which to choose. And keep your eyes open for anything new and interesting to add.

Other useful items may include: detergent cups, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, plastic food containers, large buttons, ribbons, tissue paper, cardboard boxes, used magazines...

Nature. Children are very curious about the natural world around them. They often stop to smell the roses, feel the breeze, or watch an insect crawl.

Nurturing a child's inborn curiosity encourages learning about the natural world. Your child may become fascinated by a ladybird. Take as long as your child wants to examine it.

Watch it walk across a hand. Count its dots. Talk about its colours. Offer simple, basic answers to your child's questions, and when you don't know the answer, say so.

Children learn through active use of all their senses. Pulling a petal off a flower is a way to feel its texture and to discover how a flower is put together. Children love to feel mud, sand, and water. They love to listen to birds, crickets, and the sounds of rain. You may want a book from the library for another look at the things you've seen.

The rainy day box. When the weather is bad or your child is sick, it's fun to have a 'rainy day box' full of surprises for these occasions. Something fresh and different brings new energy to your day.

Here are some ideas: Include art supplies such as new paintbrushes, a fresh drawing pad, unusual markers, a package of stickers, or a container of plasticine. Add a new toy, book, or music tape. Secretly put in an unopened birthday present, or something your child hasn't used in a while so both of you can take a fresh look at it.

Give your box a special name and dramatise its magical appearance out of nowhere. Decorate it with your child, if you wish. Children love the ceremony of reaching in for a surprise and finding something unexpected. At the end of the day, return your rainy day box to its secret hiding place and reserve it only for a long day indoors.