Banana Cart
Dad pretends to be a hungry monkey while your baby pushes the cart to deliver bananas.
- 12 months
- Quick prep
- At home
- About 15 minutes
Developmental benefits
- Movement：Pushing a walker back and forth to deliver bananas gives your baby playful practice coordinating their legs while walking.
- Cognitive：A clear pretend-play mission and an animated character help your baby stay focused on moving toward a goal.
Preparation
What You’ll Need
- 1
A bunch of bananas
- 2
a push walker
Step 1
The Monkey Is Hungry
One caregiver pretends to be a hungry monkey and acts out wanting a banana. The other points out the bananas and the push walker while explaining the game to your baby. This helps your baby understand the mission and become interested in delivering a banana to the monkey.
What to notice
- Laughs at the monkey’s actions
Emotional Functioning - Points to the “monkey” and signals that they see it
Communicating and Speaking
Tips
- Playful sounds and exaggerated actions can catch your baby’s attention. Scratch your head, pat your belly, or point to your mouth to make the hungry-monkey role vivid.
- Never force walking practice. When the monkey act makes your baby laugh and want to come closer, steps can arise naturally from their own motivation.
Step 2
Deliver a Banana to the Monkey
Let your baby put a banana in the push walker and push it toward the monkey. The monkey waves and calls from the destination while another caregiver follows behind. If your baby stops or gets distracted, gently redirect their attention to the delivery.
What to notice
- Walks toward the monkey while holding on to the push walker
Gross Motor - Becomes more excited and quickens their steps as they approach the monkey
Relationships with Adults
Tips
- If your baby is unsteady, the caregiver following behind can offer support so they feel secure and can stay focused on the delivery.
- Around 12 months, many babies are not yet walking independently. A push walker can carry the bananas while also providing support for walking practice.
Step 3
The Monkey Needs One More
When your baby reaches the monkey and offers the banana, celebrate the successful delivery. Then have the monkey ask for another banana so your baby has a fun reason to walk back and make another trip.
What to notice
- Stays focused on delivering more bananas to the pretend monkey
Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning) - Pushes the cart back toward the bananas Gross Motor
Tips
- Keep acting as the monkey and change locations—perhaps from the sofa to the window—so your baby has a playful reason to deliver bananas to different places.
- The monkey asking for another banana gives your baby a fun reason to make repeated deliveries, creating more chances to practice walking without making it feel repetitive.
Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026