From the What To Expect website:
10 Ways Toddlers Prosper From Play
1. Playtime is your toddler's chance to stretch her imagination. She can fly, be a ballet star, save the planet, or ride a unicorn without a thing standing in her way. (Reality is so overrated, isn't it?)2. For toddlers, it's all about learning by doing. Kids make countless discoveries about the world around them through playful explorations.
3. Experimenting through play helps kids figure out what they're good at and that, in turn, builds confidence and self-esteem.
4. Play preps children for socializing with others by presenting opportunities to share and take turns.
5. Playtime enables toddlers to work through emotions such as frustration, anger, and sadness.
6. Play boosts language development. Whether your toddler is talking to a friend, her doll, or even herself, she's talking — and that's what matters.
7. Playtime gives kids a sense of empowerment. (Hey, look what I can do!)
8. Creativity bubbles to the surface as kids build forts, paint murals, dress dolls, or bake imaginary cakes. This type of play also builds problem-solving skills. (How can I make this work?)
9. Using blocks, puzzles, clay, and crayons, as well as buttoning and snapping doll clothes develops eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.
10. Active play is a great foundation for a lifetime of fitness. A game of tag or a round of hopscotch is actually exercise disguised as fun!
Here Amaya is crawling up the stairs, from the dining room on her way to the living room - also known as her "office". :)