Developing play for your preschool twins and triplets

Playful preschool years with your twins

As your babies move into the toddler and preschool years, life can feel busy, noisy and wonderfully full on. One minute they’re rolling across the floor, the next they’re racing through the house with a toy buggy and a basket of plastic food.

Whether you have twins, triplets or more, play is one of the loveliest ways to stay connected as they grow and become more independent. It doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. Simple ideas like blowing bubbles in the garden, building a den from blankets or dancing to a favourite song can fill an afternoon with giggles.

These years are also a time when you’re trying to juggle different personalities, energy levels and interests. Some children charge into every activity; others prefer to watch first. It’s completely normal if one child is desperate to get messy with paint while another wants to sit quietly with a puzzle. The aim isn’t to do ‘perfect play’ but to find what works for your family right now.

What to keep in mind as play skills grow

When your babies are between 18 and 24 months, their language really starts to develop. You might notice them copying words you use often, naming familiar people or joining in with the last word of a line in a song. This is a lovely time to try simple role play, like feeding teddies, having a pretend tea party or ‘going shopping’ with a toy basket. Joining in these games helps them practise taking turns and playing together.

Around the age of two to three years, your children are likely to become more independent and may be spending time at nursery or pre-school. This is an important stage for encouraging their individuality. One might be drawn to trains while the other loves animals, or one may happily dress up and perform while the other prefers to build quietly. By following their lead, you’re showing them that their ideas matter. They’re the story makers; you’re there to extend the game within their rules.

Children often use imaginative play to explore real life situations. You might see a child acting out a visit to the doctor or recreating a moment when they were upset. If a game is focused on something they’ve found difficult, you can gently reshape it. For example, if they’re worried about injections, you can turn the doctor into a kind character who explains what’s happening and offers comfort. This can help to ease their fears while still respecting their feelings.

From around three to four years, many children love to ‘help’ with real jobs. They might want to wash the car with you, wipe the table, sort laundry or help prepare simple food, which is great news if you’d like to get a few jobs done while they play! Baking together with a ready-made cake or biscuit mix can be an easy first step if you’re not sure where to start. They’ll enjoy stirring, pouring and decorating, even if the end result is delightfully messy.

Play ideas that suit different personalities

As your children grow, you might notice that each one naturally gravitates towards certain kinds of play. Some prefer to run, jump and climb, while others could spend ages lining up cars or building careful towers. It can help to think of play in a few broad types:

• Imaginative play like dressing up, hosting a teddy tea party or sending toy characters on adventures
• Creative and messy play such as painting, sticking, cutting, mark-making or exploring water and sand
• Physical play where they can jump, dance, climb, throw, chase and generally burn off energy
• Construction and problem-solving play using blocks, chunky bricks, train tracks, threading cards or simple puzzles

You may find that your twins, triplets or more enjoy different things from this list. By noticing what each child loves, you can offer activities that feel fun and engaging for everyone.

Many toys can be used in a few different ways so that each child’s style is included. A wooden train track can be combined with building bricks to create stations or sheds, while a dolls house can become a busy place where toy people visit the train station. Creative play can slot in too, with children making signs for the station or drawing tickets for passengers. One shared set-up can offer lots of roles: driver, builder, artist, passenger, storyteller.

Making play easier for the whole family

When you’ve got more than one child wanting your attention, it can feel like a constant balancing act. It helps to spread your time fairly by letting each child choose an activity in turn. The more confident or dominant sibling may naturally speak up first, so you might need to gently make space for a quieter child to have their choice heard. Sometimes the child who didn’t choose the game may refuse to join in at first, then wander over once the fun has started. When that happens, try to welcome them into the play so everyone feels included.

If you can, build in tiny pockets of one-to-one time with each child, even if it’s just sharing a short story before bed or having a cuddle and chat on the sofa. These small moments of focused attention are very powerful and help each child feel seen as an individual.

Being organised can make activities feel calmer for you. Before you begin, gather what you’ll need for the play itself and for the clean-up afterwards. This is especially useful for anything messy. If big messy play feels overwhelming, you could offer smaller trays on the table or in highchairs so each child has their own space to explore, while still facing each other and chatting.

Play space matters too. A lot of squabbles start because someone feels another child is ‘messing up my game’. Before you begin, check that you’ve got enough room for what you’re doing, whether that’s a big floor puzzle, a track, a den or an obstacle course. Making sure everyone can reach and move without knocking things over can really reduce frustration.

Finally, keep things simple. Children at this age mainly want your time and interest. You don’t need elaborate craft projects or perfect bakes. A ‘cooking’ activity can be as easy as helping them make their own sandwiches or choosing toppings for a tortilla or bagel pizza. Talk about what they’re doing, follow their ideas and enjoy this amazing age of discovery and imagination. You’re already doing so much just by being there with them.

For more ideas for playing with your children take a look at our playbooklet (for premium members) LINKS

https://twinstrust.org/information/parenting/milestones-and-development/play/12-18.html

https://twinstrust.org/information/parenting/milestones-and-development/play/18-24.html

https://twinstrust.org/information/parenting/milestones-and-development/play/2-3.html