Can we have a thread with ideas of how to entertain a one year old while stuck inside?

[thecatwiththesilveryfur]

There are mums who are really creative and imaginative at keeping their kids entertained. I ... am not one of them.

Any good activities/things to do to stop us all going completely stir crazy?! I'll start (with an idea I saw on instagram, totally not mine): a big flat dish of water with slices of orange or lemon for them to splash around in and eat.

Add some ice cubes to your water tray?

And then you could give them a cloth and ‘wash the floor’ with all the water they’ve spilled.

The problem with one year olds is the short attention span.

Do you have a garden? There’s mileage in walking about freely in the garden. Put a piece of wood on the floor to jump on & make noise or a tin lid.

Music time?

Cooking - give them a spoon & let them stir what you’re making, or if you can do it safely I sometimes used to sit mine on the worktop to watch me wash up. You can give them a tea towel to help dry the plastic bits.

I was up in the night thinking about this exact thing! Some thoughts I had:

• construct a mud kitchen in the garden out of pallets
• use big storage container for sand and put toys in; they can get in themselves if they want
• homemade play dough (if ANYONE can find bloody flour)
• make biscuits
• big roll of paper on the kitchen floor, with paint and rollers
• magnatiles, I think they’re called
• dance party
• build a fort out of sofa cushions that they can crawl through

Again, if you have a garden - ask them to help you 'paint' the fence. Big bucket of water and a paintbrush.

A friend of mine is really good at entertaining kids and I'm nicking her ideas - today is 'rescue the dinosaurs'. She hid her son's plastic dinosaurs all over the house (sellotaped to chairs, inside cupboards, behind the sofa, etc) and then they had to find them all. Kept him going for ages apparently.

Otherwise stickers are good? I bought the Melissa & Doug reusable sticker books which have been a hit with my 20 month old.

Lidded cardboard box, cut wide slit in top, stuff with any different textured/colourful fabric cut into large pieces (play scarves and silks/ greaseproof paper etc.)

Secure lid, let them pull out in magician-like manner.

Play act your amazed surprise.

Enjoy their delighted giggling.

Refill.

Be prepared to repeat again and again and again...

Oh, these are amazing! I'm not sure DS will manage many of them, though: he's only 11 months now and definitely isn't understanding things quite this fully yet. (I will save these for when he's older, though, definitely!)

Currently rolling a ball to try to interest him while he stares at me nonplussed and then takes off to lick the pram wheels 🤦‍♀️

My slightly older toddler will play hunt the raisin. We’ve a patterned rug - I sprinkle with raisins, she finds and yums them.

We did a drum set with pans and wooden spoons yesterday. My 10 month old and 2 year old loved it.

Shallow bath with different toys in to usual, eg your kitchen utensils or animals/dinosaurs.

Make a den with cushions/blanket and the sofa to crawl in and out of.

Use a washing basket/large cardboard box as a 'boat'.

Don’t be afraid to put peppa pig on when you need a break.

I give lots of picnic snacks in the garden - put down a blanket with some sandwiches and a drink.

I put a stair gate on one of the bedroom doors and made the room safe and put in lots of books and toys - sometimes my 1 year old will play happily for 20 minutes and I peek in regularly to make sure she is ok - but I don’t let her see me as otherwise she will stop being content and start crying to be taken out.

I also put her in a travel cot at times with toys.

Bath-time with lots of toys - at least you can sit next to them while looking at your phone and get a bit of a break.

My one year old also likes playing on our trampoline - i put lots of teddies in and she walks about - i tie the entrance way with elastic bands in a way that she can’t open it.

I also give her a nap time during the day and often get two hours where she is asleep and I use this time to get things done that I can’t do when she is around - or to relax.

You can also still go out for walks if you stay away from other people.

Opposite of the scarf thing- small slit in the top of a box and posting counters or jam jar lids through. My son loved this one although he inevitably put his hand through and ripped it after a couple of days...

Hide and seek? I hide somewhere easy and call my DD until she finds me.

Do you have a ball pit?

One of those swings that hang in a doorway?

Balloons!

Can anyone recommend any relatively easy learning games/apps that can be downloaded on an Amazon Fire or iPad for a 19 month old please?