Posting activities for older babies

I think that the posting instinct probably kicks in at around 11 months. Harry was a little earlier, Mia a little later (possibly due to my failing to notice it - neglected second child syndrome strikes again!). As for when it loses its appeal, well I can't answer that one as Harry is still having fun posting things at three and a half!

All you need is a cardboard box or similar, and something to put into it. Demonstrate to the baby what to do and then just let them get on with it. For a younger baby make a larger hole and use larger items to post. I've used the shapes that go inside a shape sorter toy with a large square or circular hole. Then as they get older and better at it you can tailor the size of the hole to the object, and use smaller things to post. Finally you can move on to proper shape sorter toys where the object needs to be manipulated in order to post it through the hole.

For a toddler the activity also becomes one of role play, where you can pretend, for example, to be a postman posting letters. It's actually surprising for how long such a simple activity can keep them entertained!

Watch babies with those pom poms, they like to eat them!