Fun Games

no not really, the speaking and vocals in the background increases her vocabulary and ability to pick up grammar as well as figure out the meaning of some words by the words used around them.

No honestly, I'm not saying you can watch Springer and Soap Operas all day while she plays but I had the television on from breakfast till bedtime for all my boys and the middle boy is reading 3 grade levels above his age and the oldest was able to develope his own eating regimine to combat ADD without using medication when his dad couldn't afford it. He did the research himself. I recommend PBS and if you're interested in your child picking up 2nd languages then Nick Jr. is wonderful.

If you're really worried about her cognitive development then make sure you read to her or listen to books on tape together for at least 20 minutes a day, everyday.

All three of my boys have had speech delays due to hearing problems the number one thing we were told was to keep reading to them.

But the other thing was to play way more than teach. The kids need to know that you are there to have fun with not frustrate them. Just keep talking, normal talk not baby talk. Describe every thing you do, everything she does, avoid asking questions. Make yourself the sports commentator, she'll learn without feeling pressured then.

I used to work with one year olds at a preschool and some of the things we did that the kids found the most fun were pudding painting(like finger painting, only with pudding, so the kids can lick their fingers), singing simple songs and using "creative movement" (aka dancing)to go with them, easel painting with non-toxic paint, using fat-handled paint brushes (easier for them to hold), story time with puppets to act out the story, and more than anything, they loved to play outside. In the summer it's sometimes too hot in the afternoons, so we always went out in the mornings. There's nothing wrong with some TV, but try to limit it to educational programming. Another thing that I think has helped my kids with reading...this is going to sound strange but I'm hearing impaired and use closed captioning on my TV. My kids already knew a lot of words before starting school because of the repetition of seeing them on the TV screen. You can also get preschool level computer games, kids love playing on those too. When we would have naptime, we always played Mozart in the background...supposedly it increases the neurons in the brain, making your child smarter...lol! Most of all though, enjoy this time with your baby, it will go by so fast, mine are already 14 and almost 11, and it seems like yesterday they were babies. Have fun!

Don't feel bad because I do the same thing with my two kiddos. I would recomend reading a lot. I have read to both of my children since they were born and they love books which I think is great. Also we sing a lot of songs like ABCs and we count all the time. When my 19 month old is fighting changing his diaper all I have to do is count and he completely stops and just listens. He has already started trying to count himself. You can also do a color of the day and have everything go with that. For instance if the color is red, both of you wear something red and eat red apples and anything else you can think of red. You can color or paint something red and point out all of the red stuff in your house to her. Also we are involved with Parents as Teachers which is an organization through the school district we are located in and they come out once a month and do fun activities with my kiddos and give me lots of ideas on ways to work with them that helps them develop good skills for school. I would call your local elementary and check in to that I am sure all districts have it. It is a great program and they even do play dates once a month.

I used to work at a daycare and I took care of 1 year olds. Some
people don't think there are alot you can do with a one-year old.
But if you can get creative there is sooo much you can do. Just
prepared to make a mess most of the time. There are alot of websites that offer ideas on this sort of thing. Sometimes you can even get "printables" which are just pages that your child can
color. Once your child gets used to it she'll love to color. She can also play with play-do and blocks. You can do things like let her play with some of the following to learn different textures: Jello, cool-whip, oatmeal (uncooked), water, and anything you can think of thats edible and not a choking hazard.
If you want to look online you can try:
http://www.toddlertoddler.com/archivedactivities.htm
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/theme_station.shtml
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/cpseasons.htm
You can also try to type "toddler activities" in any search engine.
That's how I came up with alot of my lessons for my class of 1 yr.
olds. I'm sure you and your toddler will have lots of fun!
But hey, don't feel like a bad mom. I have 2 girls and a boy and a child that age doesn't love anything more than running around and playing with Mommy!