Babies aren't able to clap until they are almost a year old - clapping requires greater coordination than you might think! From 24 months, babies are able to participate in clapping games.  Encourage your kids to clap along to the rhythm of a rhyme, or to repeat a rhythm back to you.  You can also experiment with different types of clap - have your toddler clap their hands on their legs, rather than just clapping hands together; or clap your hands against your children's hands.  Clapping games can be great to keep your kids occupied for brief periods, especially as you dont need any equipment and can play such games anywhere!

Poems offer an exciting way for children to learn and are a natural extension to early lullabies that you might have entertained them with as babies. The rhythm and rhyme of a poem are similar to that of songs but beyond that, poetry introduces expressions such as similes and metaphors. These offer new ways to express everyday observations and by exposing children to poetry, they will broaden their language skills and adopt these constructs themselves. Young children will learn a poem simply by hearing it over and over and they will delight in pretending to read a poem back to you whereas they are actually reciting it from memory - arguably a more impressive feat than being able to read! Learning poems at an early age helps develop their memory and capacity to learn.

Playing music to your babies and toddlers encourages listening and movement - play whatever music they seem to enjoy. Many studies claim that playing music encourages learning and creates more intelligent children - although evidence may not yet prove that, there are no downsides to playing music to babies or toddlers. Toddlers can be given implements to bang together, or be encouraged simply to clap, to help them establish rhythm - this in turn plays an important role in the development of language. Encourage your children to express themselves as they wish through music - even if their dancing is terrible, it will certainly entertain you!