Activities for a 20-Month-Old

Featured activities for a 20-month-old

One activity from each domain, chosen for 20 months: 14 activities in the library start at exactly 20 months and 14 reach the end of their band. Other months feature different activities.

Why these fit at 20 months

• Colander Rain Pour

  Outdoors, your child pours water into a colander and into a cup and watches one make rain while the other holds it, a hands-on cause-and-effect test. Why now: its band (20-30 months) starts at exactly 20 months. Model "rain" while you play; if it is too hard, hold the colander for them so they only do the pouring.

• Finish-the-Song Pause

  Sing a song your child knows well and stop just before a key word, waiting so they can fill the gap with a sound, gesture or word. Why now: its 18-30-month band started 2 months ago, so it is still fresh. Model "your turn" while you play; if it is too hard, pause before a hand movement instead of a word, so a gesture can fill the gap.

• Tape-Line Tightrope Walk

  The child walks slowly along a straight line of painter's tape on the floor, placing each foot on the line, a calm way to practice balance before a nap or bed. Why now: its band (20-30 months) starts at exactly 20 months. Model "slow" while you play; if it is too hard, make a wide road from two tape lines a foot (30 cm) apart to walk between.

• Snack Tub Lid Twist

  At a seated snack, your child twists open a small screw-top tub holding a few snack pieces, practising a steady holding hand and the turning wrist lids need. Why now: its band (20-34 months) starts at exactly 20 months. Model "turn" while you play; if it is too hard, rest the lid on top without screwing it on, so one small twist lifts it off.

• Bubble Wand Turns

  You blow bubbles, pause until your child asks for more with a sign, sound or word, then hand over the wand for their own turn at waving bubbles. Why now: its band (20-30 months) starts at exactly 20 months. Model "more" while you play; if it is too hard, keep the wand yourself and practice only the wait-and-ask moment before each round.

• Brush and Hands Wash-Up

  After painting, your child swishes the brushes clean in a basin, squeezes the sponge, and then washes and dries their own hands at the sink. Why now: its band (20-36 months) starts at exactly 20 months. Model "wash" while you play; if it is too hard, let your child swish just one brush, then go straight to hand washing with you rubbing alongside.

• Teddy Wash, Dry and Tuck-In

  Your child gives a stuffed animal a pretend wash, rubs it dry with a towel and tucks it under a blanket, linking three pretend actions in order. Why now: its 18-28-month band started 2 months ago, so it is still fresh. Model "wash" while you play; if it is too hard, do just one step, the tuck-in, and let them pat teddy under the blanket.

• Two-Hoop Nature Sort

  Outdoors, your toddler gathers big pinecones and leaves into a bucket, then sorts them into two hula hoops on the grass, one for each kind. Why now: its band (20-32 months) starts at exactly 20 months. Model "pinecone" while you play; if it is too hard, use one hoop: pinecones go in, everything else stays in the bucket.

Activities for a 20-month-old by domain

Counted by each activity's main domain: 18 gross motor, 17 practical life, 15 fine motor, 15 language, 14 pretend and creative, 13 early concepts, 13 social-emotional and 12 cognitive.

No-prep menu for a 20-month-old

On a chaotic day pick any two. 42 of the 117 activities that fit at 20 months need nothing set up and last 10 minutes or less; here are 6.

• Copy My Box Moves (3-8 min, indoors): materials: two empty cardboard boxes of similar size and two matching large blocks or soft toys; it practices imitating actions.
• Nose-to-Nose Mirror Game (3-7 min, indoors): materials: a shatter-resistant mirror at floor level or a securely fixed wall mirror; it practices body parts.
• Scarf Copycat Dance (5-10 min, indoors or out): materials: two lightweight scarves and your voice or a favorite song; it practices imitating actions.
• Teddy's Snack Time (3-8 min, indoors): materials: a stuffed animal or soft doll and a toddler spoon; it practices simple pretend play.
• Window Watch Talk (3-8 min, indoors): materials: a window with something to watch (street, yard, birds, rain); it practices pointing to show.
• Pot Drum Echo Turns (4-8 min, indoors): materials: 2 small pots or plastic bowls, upturned and 2 wooden spoons; it practices taking turns.

What is emerging at 20 months

Between checklist ages CDC uses the earlier one, so at 20 months the 18-month checklist (15 milestones) still applies, 2 months after it. The next checklist comes at 24 months, 4 months away; 4 of its items, each with a matching activity:

• Points to the right picture in a book when you ask something like "Where is the dog?" At 20 months you can practice it with Feelings Faces in Board Books (5-10 min).
• Gives a ball a kick. At 20 months you can practice it with Kick into the Box Goal (5-12 min).
• Walks up a few stairs, rather than climbing on hands and knees, with or without help. At 20 months you can practice it with Climb the Stairs to Teddy (3-8 min).
• Reacts when someone is hurt or upset, for example stopping or looking sad when another person cries. At 20 months you can practice it with Gentle Hands for Teddy (3-6 min).

Indoor and outdoor play at 20 months

A 7-day sample week for a 20-month-old

Two short focus activities a day, rotating domains the way our evidence-based program does, plus one practical-life moment and a few words to model. Everything else is free play, meals, outdoor time, books and sleep.

Growing into next: 21 to 23 months

12 activities start in the next 3 months. Offer them once and watch; if they do not click yet, put them away for a few weeks.

• Feelings Faces in Board Books: from 21 months (1 ahead), social-emotional, practices naming feelings.
• Cardboard Garage Parking Talk: from 21 months (1 ahead), language, practices two-word phrases.
• Dough Pancake Café: from 21 months (1 ahead), pretend and creative, practices pretend sequences.
• Bubble Jar Twist and Blow: from 22 months (2 ahead), fine motor, practices twisting lids and knobs.
• Egg Cup Circle Stamping: from 22 months (2 ahead), early concepts, practices colors and shapes.

More for 20 months