Activities for a 2 year old

[yellowmuma]

Hi! My sons 2 year checks are coming up and I’m worried there’s a fair amount of things on the list he doesn’t do yet. He’s not at a nursery yet (we can’t afford it) and I don’t think that helps.

Anyway, looking for some simple activities (indoors or outdoors) that we can do together that don’t cost a lot and are educational. I do need to update his toys (still quite a lot of baby ones) but just don’t have enough money to buy different things all the time. He loves being outdoors and he’s obsessed with cars/vehicles. He watches a fair amount of TV so my plan is to reduce it a lot and get him doing more activities. He does play a lot too though but I’m worried I’m failing him and holding him back somehow ☹️ I don’t think he’s majorly behind development wise but I know HV’s look for certain things I may not spot, so I’m a bit worried about his checks!

As a start it would be good to do the 24M ASQ (if not already) to identify areas of strength and weakness - that should give a good indication to what activities he would benefit the most from.

If he likes the outdoors then nature play and messy play are great for the age. My boys love scavenger hunts, you can make gloop/play dough/chalk paint etc very cheaply. Another favourite is 'sink or float' fill a tub/bucket with water and let him collect things then guess if they'll sink or float. Sand and water play in general is good for development and usually popular activities.

Please don't think you need money to make your baby happy. Lots of things can be done very cheap or no cost at all. How about walks in the wood and really talk about what you see etc and pretend there's fairies in the trees etc. We have a mud kitchen which my LO likes and yes it was pricey but tbh one could easily be made with an old tub and some garden soil. Planting a few seeds such as veg or sunflowers etc also could be done quite cheap. ITO toys honestly the more they have the less they play with it lol. If money is limited I'd stick to collecting a classic like lego and then maybe some puzzles and you'd be surprised at how that can keep them amused. You can always look at fb marketplace etc too for cheap things. He needs your time more than your money just remember that. Xx