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Ideas to keep a 1 year old boy entertained please?

22 replies

Stillmonday · 01/03/2020 02:31

Any fresh ideas welcome please

OP posts:
Leeds2 · 01/03/2020 02:34

Balloons.
Bubbles.
Banging a wooden spoon against the bottom of your pans.
Washing up bowl of water and cups to pour, bath toys to float.

Aquamarine1029 · 01/03/2020 03:32

Balloons are not an appropriate plaything for a 1 year old. If they pop, the latex pieces pose a serious choking risk.

PatricksRum · 01/03/2020 03:47

Literally anything that isn't a toy.
TV remote with no batteries
A comb
A spoon
An empty bottle

ICJump · 01/03/2020 03:50

Balls, duplo and books for my DD. She also like her OK Dolls. But balls are her favourite thing

TheLovleyChebbyMcGee · 01/03/2020 04:15

Balloons are fine for a 1 year old to play with while supervised, my DS loves them. Don't over inflate and they are much less at risk at popping, and if they do pop it's not like you won't notice so can pick up the bits quickly as long as you are within earshot of course!

LovingLola · 01/03/2020 04:30

Years ago my toddler got the fright of her life when a balloon burst beside her. It was a long time before she got over it !
I’d second bowls of water and cups ..

addictedtotheflats · 01/03/2020 04:33

What @PatricksRum said!

skippetyskoo · 01/03/2020 04:53

Dried pasta and containers/bottles to pop it in.
Empty tissue box with fabric pieces to put in/pull out.
If I was desperate, I would empty all my pans from kitchen cupboard with some spoons to bang.
Ditto anything that isn’t a toy!

MadamFlutterby · 01/03/2020 05:14

window stickers that you can pull off and put on again - great for fine motor skills too

a large box of tissues

a jack in the box

TheHagOnTheHill · 01/03/2020 05:25

Empty plastic bottle with dry rice/lentils in.Toy car something for it to roll down.
Anything noisy.

Stillmonday · 01/03/2020 12:13

Thanks for the suggestions, these are only 5 minutes at a time activities though. My DS gets bored quickly. I was hoping for ideas for activities we could do together to take up a couple of hours etc.

OP posts:
Thinkingaboutsummer2020 · 01/03/2020 12:27

I can’t wait for the weather to get out and about more with my 1 year old - but really no 1 year old is going to want to do the same thing for a couple of hours.

Rainallnight · 01/03/2020 12:29

Sorry, I don’t think you’ll find anything that a one year old is going to be into for an hour or two. Five minutes is about the max!

HuloBeraal · 01/03/2020 12:31

No one year old will be engaged for a couple of hours except for outdoors maybe.
Have a look at the Five Minute Mum book that’s out. She has some good ideas.
The only thing my 1 year old could do for a decent amount of time was listen to me read. And it’s generally a good habit to get into.

SleepyNightOwl · 01/03/2020 12:33

If you can make it secure enough a clear water bottle filled with water and glitter and pasta etc can entertain them for quite a while.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 01/03/2020 12:45

A good way of working out a child's attention span is to double their age and add 2 minutes. So a five minute activity is about right for your DC.

Some activities might catch their attention a little longer like reading, or my Dd love putting large pipe cleaners into the holes of a colinder. An activity lasting an hour is a bit optimistic at their age.

gamerchick · 01/03/2020 12:49

You're not going to find an activity that lasts a couple of hours at that age OP.

Fill a bottom cupboard up with none baby friendly toys and let them fill their boots.

You could get into exercise and use him a a weight.

NeverGotMyPuppy · 01/03/2020 12:53

I'm afraid you've a while before something holds his attention for that long!

thunderthighsohwoe · 01/03/2020 12:56

Baby proof the house and let him wander about investigating things. My 15 month old has loved that since she was about 1, it’s the only thing that entertains her for a prolonged period of time (apart from soft play).

BertieBotts · 01/03/2020 13:19

Rotate his toys so you've always got some things put away where he can't access them. When he's having a bored day and rushing through everything, bring out some of the hidden things and hide some of the ones he's got out. It keeps them fresh and interesting.

Car boot sales are great for picking up inexpensive toys - go and have a raid :) DS2 at the moment loves little toy cars, wooden jigsaws, shape sorting toys and his push along cart. Stacking and building toys are also brilliant for this age as well as different combinations of boxes or cups or other small containers and things they can easily handle to go in and out of them. They also love "Treasure Boxes" - which is just any old random box filled with everyday or unusual household or natural objects that they don't usually get to play with - so you might include things like a pine cone, a toothbrush, a sponge, an old cheap pair of plastic sunglasses, a stone large enough not to be a choking hazard. You need to supervise while they explore the things, but that can occupy them for ages exploring the different items.

Does he always need you to play with him? My first was like this, whereas my second is Mr. Independent, and it makes such a difference to your energy levels. If you can try to shift some of his playing to be him playing while you watch but don't actually interact, that will give you a bit of freedom. After a while you might then be able to set him up playing while you walk in and out of the room doing other things, or do another task in the same room. This is a good technique/approach: www.janetlansbury.com/2017/10/independent-play-five-hints-to-get-the-ball-rolling/

Can he walk yet? It's getting to a lovely time of year to bundle him into an all-in-one or some rainproof trousers (again, look second hand for these) and just go on a random explore wherever he wants to go.

If you're at home during the week as well, get out to some playgroups and/or meet up with other mums and babies/toddlers - it will do you both good to socialise.

Isadora2007 · 01/03/2020 13:27

Get on a bus to a library or museum that’s free.
Finding local parks and going to them to feed ducks etc.
Baby and toddler groups- just local ones run by volunteers that cost a pound are fine.
Walking at nap times with your earphones in and listening to music.
Music and dancing and singing.

TorysSuckRevokeArticle50 · 01/03/2020 13:47

Plastic storage box, like the under bed ones and a box of super cheap own brand cornflakes or rice crispies.

Bury some of his toy figures in the cereal and give him plastic cups, measuring spoons etc so he can dig them up, fill the cups and pour them out and so on.

Put a blanket or something underneath so you can just gather up the overspill and pour it back into the box.

Same activity works outside on warm days but with bubbly water.

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