Often times new parents of small children have a hard time coming up with fun things to keep their young children engaged and occupied. Below is a toddler tested and approved list of fun activities that both parents and their children will enjoy.
1) Magic Mud
This one was a surprise to me when a friend told me about it. Magic mud is a substance that acts like a solid when you touch it, but melts and becomes liquid as soon as it’s left alone. Children will have loads of fun experimenting with this strange, magical substance. Best of all? It’s super cheap and only has two ingredients.
Supplies:
5 Tablespoons of cornstarch
3 Tablespoons of water
Instructions: Mix in a big pot and enjoy.
A tip that would have helped me is to do this outside or in the bathtub. Young children especially will enjoy splashing like they do in water, and it will get everywhere and then dry. Cleanup is easy however if you simply wipe spills up with a wet wash cloth. Also, when you get rid of the magic mud, dump it down the drain and run hot water for a couple of minutes. When this dries it can easily be turned to liquid again with a little water, but if you don’t flush the drain it can clog it up.
Toddler rating: 5/5 stars. My two year old loved this activity and was fascinated by the way it felt in her fingers.
2) Playdough
Generally you can get four containers of playdough for around $2 at a store like Wal-Mart, and it will keep children occupied for at least an hour. The brand name is non-toxic, so no worries if little Susan or Johnny puts some in their mouth. Children love to sit and play with siblings or parents. Give them a plastic butter knife to cut it up with, or other non-sharp kitchen instruments.
If you don’t want to buy the playdough, you can easily make your own with household items using the following recipe:
Supplies:
1 cup salt
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups warm water
(optional) 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (this can improve elasticity of the dough)
Instructions: Mix all of the ingredients in a pan over low heat until it has the consistency and look of mashed potatoes. If it’s too sticky, heat it longer.
When it’s done cooking, let it cool and knead it on a clean surface like a countertop. You can divide it up and add food coloring. Knead it until it has a smooth consistency.
Store in plastic baggies when done playing to keep it from drying out.
IMPORTANT: Let it cool before your children play with it, because it will be hot and hurt their hands.
Toddler rating: 5/5 My 2 year old daughter and her 2 and a half year old friend loved both the store bought and home made dough. I personally prefer the store bought because it was cheap and I didn’t have to dirty up a pan making it, but the home made is fun for a rainy day, and my daughter loved helping dump the dry ingredients into the pan before I heated it up.
3) Build a fort:
This one is completely free. What you need is a couple of dining room chairs, a blanket, some couch cushions, and a couple of bed pillows. My daughter loves when we build a fort with a blanket over the top, and then lay underneath with a flashlight and read stories or play with her toys. Quick and easy, and cleanup only takes a few minutes!
4) Reading stories:
We do this every night before bedtime, but we also enjoy reading during the day time. My daughter is only 2 years old, but she likes going to the library and helping to pick out books. The library is a free, easy way to get new to you reading material and introduce your children to new ideas and concepts. Studies show that reading to young children often help them develop vocabulary, reading, and other speech and comprehension skills. Children as young as one year old can start to understand story plots. This is a free way to spend a few minutes, or an entire afternoon with your children. My daughter enjoys turning the pages and looking at the pictures while we read to her.
At meal times it’s often hard to keep toddlers out of trouble while mom or dad are cooking in the kitchen. To combat the tantrums or messes toddlers make when mom and dad are busy, include them in the activity. We often let our 2 year old pour dry ingredients from a package or measuring cup into the pot or bowl before heating it. We also have magnets on the fridge and washing machine that she enjoys playing with. She also sometimes enjoys sitting on a kitchen chair and watching while we cook and sing songs together like Old McDonald. Giving a toddler a couple of pans or plastic bowls and plastic spoons to play with on the floor is also great fun for young minds. They will imitate mom or dad while they are cooking by pretending to stir or dump in invisible ingredients.
It is important to keep children away from hot items while they are in the kitchen. To save children from burns, turn handles in on the stove so they can’t pull hot pots and pans down. Make sure sharp utensils are also back from counter edges to avoid cuts.
6) Hide and Seek:
This is an old classic, and children still love it. Our daughter enjoys jumping out from behind the couch when we pretend we can’t find her, and she also enjoys looking for us, although it is harder for an adult to find a suitable place to hide. Remember that young children will get discouraged if you don’t let them find you after a short time, and they will be thrilled when you walk right past them and pretend you can’t find them.
7) Coloring:
Crayons and coloring books are cheap and can be bought at the dollar store. Free coloring pages can also be found for free in a variety of places online such as on the Crayola website. When a coloring book is unavailable, plain scrap paper will do. They will love it when you tape up pages they scribbled or colored on in their bedroom or on the fridge. Young children don’t have the skills to color in the lines, but scribbling helps develop fine motor skills, and they will enjoy laying on the floor with mom and dad scribbling. Just make sure you count the crayons at the end of coloring time because a lost crayon means scribbles on the walls later on.
8) Singing:
Simple songs like the ABC’s or Old McDonald will delight young children. They will soon memorize the melody or words and be delighted to recite the song to family and friends. This also helps in the development of speech skills and will help them learn new words. Songs can be found on Youtube or other free internet sites if you can’t remember the words to some of the childhood classics.
Let your child help color ABC or 123 flash cards. Then pull them out once a day and practice helping them recognize letters, colors, numbers, or shapes. My 2 year old daughter loves looking at the ABC flash cards every night after dinner. These cards can usually also be found in the book section of grocery stores for $1 or $2.
Around two years old, toddlers really like to sort things by color, shape, or size. Pull out an empty diaper or toy box and ask your child to put all of the red toys in the box. Help them identify the red toys. Then dump the toys out and mix them up and ask them to put all the blue toys in the box, or all the square toys, or all the soft toys. The possibilities are endless. At first your toddler may not understand the game, but through praise like clapping for doing the right action, after a few days they will delight in sitting down with mom or dad and sorting through toys. This is a great way to learn about colors, shapes, sizes, or textures.
11) Balloons:
We had some balloons left over from our daughter’s second birthday party, and found out that like most children, balloons make for a great variety of fun and games. She enjoyed throwing the balloons at us and up in the air, hitting them with her hand like a volleyball, rubbing them on her hair and trying to stick them to the wall, and kicking them all over the house. She also enjoyed us throwing them at her, and we discovered how endlessly she can laugh. A large package of balloons can often be purchased at the dollar store.
Note: When you have balloons around children, it is important to keep watch over them when they are playing with them. When a balloon pops or goes flat it can present a choking hazard to kids and pets. If balloons are scattered around the house it is a good idea to check a few times a day for popped or deflated balloons and pick them up.
12) Use Sidewalk Chalk:
Sidewalk Chalk can be bought for a dollar at the dollar store. This is a great activity to do when it’s nice outside. Make sure your child wears clothing you don’t mind getting a little dirty as they will be sitting on the ground playing with chalk. It is important to watch and make sure they don’t put the chalk in their mouth.
13) Painting the Sidewalk;
Take a couple of cheap foam brushes and a bucket or plastic bowl of water outside on a nice day and let your children “paint” the sidewalk or driveway. This is a no clean up activity that they will love. The sidewalk will dry quickly on a hot day and make for a clean slate to start all over again!
14) Go To The Park:
Most suburban neighborhoods have a park with play equipment and most cities have at least one park within driving distance. If there are no city parks, try grade schools after school hours or during the summer or on weekends when there is no school. Small children love climbing, sliding, and swinging with parents. It is important to make sure they are on equipment that is appropriate for their age, such as play structures with rails so they don’t fall off of high places. Along with myself, we always see other parents climbing the equipment with their young children to ensure safety. Also, busy parks make it necessary to stay with your child to avoid predators. On a cold day make sure to bring a jacket, and on sunny days be sure to lather everybody up with sunscreen to protect skin!
15) Take a Bath:
Most children enjoy bath time, especially if they have special bathtub toys that can only be played with in the bath. Toys that float and that are waterproof are easily found at most retail stores. Our daughter enjoys playing with Duplo-blocks (giant Legos) in the bathtub because they float and she uses them to dump water on her head. For an extra special bath time, make it a bubble bath!
It is important to note that no child should be left alone near a body of water, even if it is only an inch deep, for any amount of time. Reduce the risk of drowning by sitting with your child next to the bathtub and playing with them, and never leave them alone for even a few seconds.
16) Make Mud Pies:
Granted, this one can be a mess, but in the summer time when it’s warm out, children will love playing in the mud with mom and dad. Put your toddler in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, drag out the hose, and add a little water to some dirt in your yard. Let little Johnny or Susan make mud pies to their heart’s content. Be sure to keep an eye out for mud or bugs making their way towards your toddler’s mouth, and have a towel ready before you go out. You can hose them off in the yard and dry them before they go back inside for a bubble bath!
17) Play With Toys:
The cheapest and easiest of all of these ideas is to sit down and play with your toddler with the toys they already own. Help them play make-believe by teaching them to pretend. Build blocks, play with stuffed animals, read storybooks, play with other toys. They will enjoy spending time with you, and you will enjoy seeing how they pretend with their toys and copy off of you.
18) Tickling:
Our daughter loves to be tickled. It’s free and easy. Tickle your child’s feet, tummy, neck, and armpits and watch them squirm and laugh! Say “I’m gonna tickle you!” and watch as they squeal when they see your hand come near their chin or armpit without even touching them!
19) Play With an Empty Box:
It’s hard to believe that we buy our children toys, but they often prefer a big empty box that they can sit or hide inside. Even diaper boxes are loads of fun for small toddlers. Put your child inside and push them around the house pretending they are driving a car or riding in a boat!
20) Go For a Walk:
Take your child for a walk on a nice day. Point things out like flowers and cars, people and objects. Ask them what kind of animal that is when they spot a cat or dog, and just enjoy your time outside with your toddler as they explore the world around them.
With the above ideas and tips, you should have a good start for ideas of how to keep your young children happy, curious, engaged, and occupied. These activities are enjoyable for both parents and children, and often for older siblings as well. Possibilities are endless when it comes to entertaining your children. There are many free websites online to get ideas from. Don’t forget to ask other parents what activities their young children enjoy, and don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Remember to keep safety in mind, and enjoy time with your children as you watch them learn and grow!
