to ask for easy things I can do with my toddler?

[ShambalaHambala]

I'm a lone parent to a 18 month old. Key worker with an awesome boss who has told me to keep child at home with me and just work when I can. I can only stand to do things like arts and crafts and messy play for an hour or two a day at the moment. Struggling a bit as we can only go on one walk a day. Definitely missing clubs and soft okay/role play centre. Can anyone recommend simple and easy things I can do with a toddler (such as sticking the wiggles on) that may keep him entertained for more than 5 seconds? Before I go insane!

They have such a short attention span at that age.

We did
Dressing up, sunglasses, hats and scarves, bangles etc
Bags and purses with old loyalty cards to pull in and out and post in random places
Sorting coloured pom poms into an ice cube tray
Happyland
Lots of cbeebies
Books
Shaker instruments and banging sticks like you get at baby groups but you can easily make from random house crap

Do you have access to Amazon Music/ similar? We find dancing and doing actions to the Tumble Tots songs works great. If you have an echo dot/ similar you can access the CBeebies audio app and CBeebies radio which has songs, games and stories. Less likely to overstimulate than TV, but great for a helping hand at toddler play time. And dancing toddlers like to nap sooner.

Mine would always play for ages in the bath

They liked going through my jewellery box and trying it all on (costume jewellery not good stuff)

Bubbles and balls pass the time well.

Use a decorating brush and bowl of water to paint the patio and fences.

Zoom bookbug (can find it on Facebook) , it’s free

Metal pans and wooden spoons - making lots of noise
Messy play with dried oats
Water play (ideally in the garden if the weather gets better again)
"Posting" things. Buy a toy post box on amazon or make your own - we get a good 20 mins of peace with this
Scooping uncooked rice from one container to another
Threading pipecleaners through a colander

Finger puppets! Used for stories, songs, just identifying different animals, etc. You can get sets on Amazon - the Puppet Company ones are the best IMO. I can keep DD entertained for ages by sending her back and forth to the box they're kept in to get specific animals

Mega Blocks for building things.

DD loves books with buttons she can press to make noises. Another easy way to spend time - I'll ask her to find the page with X animal noise, etc etc.

We have a wooden Noah's Ark that DD will spend ages just putting the animals in and out of

If you have any outside space, a sand and water table

Oh and she LOVES my purse when I stuff it full of business cards in all the various slots.

Flour has a few crafty uses if you can currently get hold of any.
I've made glue with it a few times (a table spoon mixed with a bit of sugar and warm water in enough) and we've made made pictures by sticking random things found in the house to paper- cut up wrapping paper, napkins, pasta and rice and I drew peppa pig and George one and cut up old baby clothes in pink and red to glue their outfits on.

A very easy I spy game where I get a basket and say mummy spies with her little eye- a book or a certain toy ect and he runs to find them

I let him put my make up on for me

Hide and seek is proving the most entertaining game at the moment

We sing going on a bear hunt and I pick him up and swing him round when were going through the forest or the snow storm

We have Alexa and he loves animal sounds app. I get him to try and ask Alexa what noise a certain animal makes and then we match the animal to a picture in his book

Painting the walls (inside or out) with the thinnest paint brush ever & a bucket of paint ie water. My four-year-old still falls for this trick and I get to enjoy some peace as I loosely supervise the bits she’s missed!

If you’re having parcels delivered, keep the bubble wrap for popping purposes - you can actually sellotape it to a hard floor for your toddler to stomp on.

Switch bath time to the daytime & use it as an extended water play session (with lots of pouring toys & bubbles). I tend to read a multitude of stories to my DD2 while she’s in the bath so she wants to stay in for longer!

Spotting rainbows in windows on your daily walks.

Old icecream tub / Tupperware with large pieces of dry uncooked pasta smaller / muffin tray to put it in/ out

Edible paints/ cloud dough ( google for recipe)

Old beach bag with random ( safe ) items different textures shapes to unpack ( eg different types of brushes, measuring spoons, fabric, old phone, remotes, keys)

Wheeled toys in shallow water tray/ washing up bowl.

Cooked spaghetti / mashed potato
( instant?) for sensory play

Chubby crayons

Wind sellotape ( sticky side out ) around a piece of card and collect Leaves petals / interesting finds on a nature walk in garden/ park together.

Chalk on board/ tiles/ walls pavement?

Baker Ross has sticker kits for that sort of age or you can buy things like magnets, flowerpots, bird houses etc that you can paint (www.bakerross.co.uk/seaside-dotty-art-1)

Easy oat bar baking:
1 mashed banana + 100g oats + 150ml milk. Mix together and bake in a loaf tin at 200C for 25 mins. (That's the basic version, but you can add raisins, berries, peanut butter, choc chips, seeds, dried fruit or whatever you have in the cupboard if you want to experiment - it turns out nice whatever you throw in!)

My DS loved cleaning and sweeping at that age, so a dustpan and brush or a cloth for the windows could also work to keep your DC occupied.

Have a hunt about on Facebook. Loads of classes are putting up pre recorded or live sessions on their which you could watch and join in from a tablet or computer. I cast it to the tv.

I found one called melody makers and my dc forget if it's been repeated. There about 2 or 3 pre recorded sessions so far.

They are normally just the teacher in their house but it's some one else singing or saying nursery rhymes!

So check out your normal groups as someone may be doing similar

Free online classes - we like boogie beats Edinburgh and Stirling and Norfolk library service bounce and rhyme time

I’ve put various different textures separately into a Tupperware like pasta (we had a bag that we use for playing that has been handled and gets recycled before anyone says we’re wasting food!), craft feathers, craft Pom poms then add a few bits and pieces like silicone tipped kitchen tongs, a big spoon, pastry brush. I also used an Easter basket with a handle and he likes carrying it around with him.

Decanting then pegs one by one from the Pegbbasket into the washing basket 🙄

Emergency foil blanket - makes a great tent

Cake tin and a spoon ... not great for headaches but good for energy expulsion.

Oh, Singing Hands do a signed story on Mondays I think it is on their Facebook page. DD likes to sit and watch that sometimes and the stories are short enough to keep their attention, plus you can learn some sign language to practice together after!

Yesterday I got a drainer from the kitchen and put pipe cleaners through it and he spent ages picking them out one by one

Tubs and pots.
Empty ice cream , butter spread , shoe box , any tubs all different sizes.
Have lots of different bits ranging in sizes. Block , toy figure, shapes , tea spoon. Etc. Put them in one box.
Toddlers love sorting. Leave him to place things in and out of the boxes.
Great for development. Learning Size , fine motor play , sensory play.

Old shoe box. Cut a slit in it. Turn it into a posting box. If you have old birthday cards. Cut to fit in slot. Posting game.

Tie an old birthday foil banner to his highchair for sensory play and won't fall on the floor.

Old shoe box or cereal box. Fill with different textured stuff. Bath scrunchy. Tea spoon. Micro fibre cloth. Potato scrubber , anything round the house. It's a sensory box.

Old Argos catalogue. Let him tear it up.

Make a tent from a duvet cover and dining chairs and sellotape. They love playing in hiding places.

Move the sofa from the wall and let him hide and play with toys behind it. Love playing in tight spaces you can't get in.

Shower curtain £5 from wilko's. This is your clean mat. Squirt with shaving foam.
Put a plastic box with sand in on it.
Water play in plastic box
Compost from garden centre in plastic box.
Shower curtain makes it so easy to clean up.
You can also use it to make a tent.

Black shower curtain. Make into a tent. Dark. Light up toys in it. Loads of fun.

Put Baby Shark on repeat and DANCE!

Place marking. These are great!

Posting coins into a piggy bank. But you definitely have to sit with her obviously in case if swallowing.

Reading books with textures. Eg the DK touch and feel books.

Having a shallow bath in the day time. My dh and I used to call it the watery playpen - I would bring in a comfy chair to watch.

Blanket over dining table. Cushions underneath.

Make pastry. A few safe utensils to poke holes in it. It can be played with - and eaten.

Musical instruments and you tube nursery rhymes.

Music time with kitchen stuff if you don't have any instruments
Get a box and fill it with random things
Have a bath and put lots of toys in it
Make a den
Moon sand
Gloop
Cutting out pictures from comics etc and sticking them on paper (my 18mo loves this!)
Fill a bag with toys then sing songs aboht the items eg bas bas black sheep

If you have hard floors use masking tape to make "roads" and car parks etc and let them drive small cars around track. Use old shoe box to make dolls/ teddy's bed. My son's favourite was largish box made into a car with no base then used looped scarves tied on over his shoulder so he could stand in it and "drive" around the house. With spoon as steering wheel

A colander and uncooked spaghetti to poke through it. Sticker books?

If you have the space, a play cooker is good.