Magical worldsImagine · 24–36 months

The box train

You turn a row of boxes into a train that travels to made-up stops around the house.

To do with your toddler between 2 and 3 years old. It works on: imitation, language development and symbolic play. You'll need: boxes, sofa cushion and small plush toy.

In the app, one activity a day for their age →

What do I need?

• Boxes
• Sofa cushion
• Small plush toy

How do I do it?

1. 01

   Build the train

   Line up 2 or 3 cardboard boxes in the living room and put a sofa cushion in the front one. Invite your little one to sit on the cushion: “All aboard! Who's driving today?” Sit behind them, outside the boxes.

2. 02

   Let them drive

   Watch how they settle in, what noises they make and how they move their hands to drive. Don't correct them or tell them what to do. If they stop, add a sound without taking over: “The train goes choo-choo.”

3. 03

   Call out a stop

   Give a corner of the house a name: “First stop, Bear Mountain! Let's put your teddy on the train.” Hand them the small plush toy so it can ride next to them.

4. 04

   Keep the train going

   Make up another stop with its own mission: “Next stop, Snack Station! Should we get some water for the trip?” If they come up with their own stops, go wherever they say.

5. 05

   Pull into the station

   When they lose interest, end the trip calmly: “We're here! Thanks for the ride, driver.” Another day, you can make up new stops together.

What are they learning?

As they play, a few boxes become a train and their plush toy becomes a passenger. While driving, they copy the gestures and noises they've seen on trains and in cars. Each stop gives them a new place to name and a little story to follow.

• Imitation

  Copies the driving gestures and noises they've seen outside the home

• Language development

  Hears and says the names of the stops and what happens at each one

• Symbolic play

  Pretends some boxes are a train and their plush toy is a passenger

What the research says

1. How babies' knack for copying something seen earlier changes from 6 to 24 months

   Barr et al. · 1996

2. Responding to babbling helps babies quickly learn speech sounds

   Goldstein & Schwade · 2008

3. Weighing the evidence on how pretend play affects children's growth

   Lillard et al. · 2013

See all 6 references

1. Barr R, Dowden A, Hayne H. Developmental changes in deferred imitation by 6- to 24-month-old infants. Infant Behavior and Development. 1996;19(2):159-170. doi:10.1016/S0163-6383(96)90015-6 doi.org/10.1016/S0163-6383(96)90015-6
2. Carpenter M, Nagell K, Tomasello M. Social cognition, joint attention, and communicative competence from 9 to 15 months of age. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 1998;63(4):1-143. doi:10.2307/1166214 doi.org/10.2307/1166214
3. Goldstein MH, Schwade JA. Social feedback to infants' babbling facilitates rapid phonological learning. Psychological Science. 2008;19(5):515-523. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02117.x doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02117.x
4. Weisleder A, Fernald A. Talking to children matters: early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science. 2013;24(11):2143-2152. doi:10.1177/0956797613488145 doi.org/10.1177/0956797613488145
5. Lillard AS, Lerner MD, Hopkins EJ, Dore RA, Smith ED, Palmquist CM. The impact of pretend play on children's development: a review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin. 2013;139(1):1-34. doi:10.1037/a0029321 doi.org/10.1037/a0029321
6. McCune L. A normative study of representational play in the transition to language. Developmental Psychology. 1995;31(2):198-206. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.2.198 doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.31.2.198

Reviewed by Javier Atance Ibar, PhD in Education