What to do with 20 month old (daily routine, games, etc)?

Question

I am going to be watching my 20 month old cousin during the day for the next few months due to a family situation (my uncle died and my aunt has to go back to work).

My uncle was sick for a while so my cousin has been taken care of by my aunt and also lots of relatives lately. He has a lunch and nap times and his aunt will do AM and bedtime stuff when I watch him. But I don't really have any idea what to do with him all day, most of my family have just been taking him along on whatever they were doing so they aren't much help in figuring out a routine for him.

Can anyone help me? What do you do on a typical day with kids that age? Any tips would be helpful

Also anything about educational stuff to do with him would be really great:) My family is completely obsessed with having smart kids and my mom has been complaining because my cousin doesn't speak in long sentences yet and doesn't have a big enough vocabulary and on and on... So if you have any ideas on things that improve vocabulary or good books on child development to make her stop nagging me about how I will be 'improving his intelligence' I would really appreciate it!

Answer 1

Reading books is very important for language development.  Also, when you go on walks, talk to him about what you see.  Play music, sing songs, and dance with him.

Answer 2

I nanny for a toddler around that age, from 8:30 am -5 pm. Here is one example of a day:

8:30-9:30- (any of these things) play around house, bath, play outside with toys or in sandbox or with water, listen to music and dance around, read books

9:30-11- walk in stroller to library, attend story time (you can call your local library to see when they have toddler story times) Or, go to the playground at a nearby elementary school. Usually we have a snack of fruit or yogurt around 10.

11:15- feed him lunch

11:45-12:30- quiet play with toys (kids are OK if they play with toys and you are around reading or watching TV- they don't need your attention 24/7 and it's better for both of you to have some down time)

12:30-3 or whenever he wakes up- Nap!

3:30- afternoon snack of cheese or applesauce or something else healthy

4-5 pm- play with a friend, go for a drive, go for a walk, run errands, etc.

As far as educational stuff goes, kids learn best through watching others- not Baby Einstein, not flashcards, not any of that- so, go to a park, an indoor playground, take him places and show him the world!