How can I keep my 1 year old occupied?

[Williams2023]

My son recently turned one and he’s on the move crawling and standing up against furniture absolutely no problem. But naturally he will not sit still.

He has plenty of toys but a lot of them are soft toys and rattles that he has absolutely no interest in. Can anyone recommend any toys or activities to keep him happy and busy please?

My only issue is all he wants to do is eat absolutely everything. He has some shape sorting toys, however he just sees them as something else to chew on.

I do take him out to the park by us daily, however all he can really do on is a swing and after a short while he wants out.

I’m just looking for something that will keep him busy for even five minutes so I can drink my coffee 😂

I found letting them loose with some newspapers was quite entertaining. They pull them apart, scatter the pages, but will also notice anything recognisable like dogs or cats. That’s long enough for your coffee break.

If they’re sitting beside you then any magazine can be absorbing. Let them turn the pages, and have a conversation about whatever you see.

TheOriginalFrench, I absolutely love this idea. Thank you so much, I’ll definitely give this a go :)

Don't worry about him wanting to put everything in his mouth, it is a completely normal thing. But obviously don't let him have things he could swallow or choke on.

Building blocks, cars, dolls, pretend sets of things for cooking, housework (start them young!), or jigsaws are all good.

I used to have a drawer in the kitchen with things like wooden spoons, tupperware boxes, plastic mugs/bowls and pan lids that mine used to bang and play with while I was cooking.

They always like older children’s toys so I bought my son cars and tractors and he spent hours driving them about on the floor.

At 1 my DS was obsessed with wheels. DD had a small box of cars and she let him play with it one day, and that was it! He was also into mouthing everything so I bought him some big chunky ones from B&M (I think) and he played with them for ages, sometimes just turning the wheels with his fingers but also pushing them along the floor. Now he's nearly 6 and we have so many cars it's actually insane!

And DD liked putting things in and taking things out of bags/boxes. Hours of fun!

My ds is very active (18m). Here are some things he enjoys.
Buy a pack of tents and tunnels. He can crawl through them and play hide and seek. Easy and compact to store and can be used inside during the colder days as well as in the garden.

Different vehicles - buses, cars, planes.

Musical books - my ds loves these and plays with them for ages. The Usborne series has lots of options. The animal orchestra is a firm favourite.

Mini soft play set to crawl and walk on/over

If you have a garden then invest in some garden toys. A sit on vehicle, water play (when the sun appears!), paddling pool.

My ds loves our toy kitchen, he rummages in the cupboards for ages.

Use things around the house: Tupperware to play with the lids, opening/closing empty shampoo bottles, wooden spoons and a plastic bowl to mimic you cooking.

Thank you all so much, I love these ideas. I’ve gone out to buy some tunnels for him and a few toy cars to play with. I also purchased a wooden spoon and I honestly think that may be his favourite so far, he’s enjoying making some noise with it off some tupperware. Thank you all ever so much. I now have one very happy boy, and a very happy momma enjoying a coffee, hot, for the first time in forever 😁

will definitely be investing in some garden toys, if the sun ever decides to appear

DD loved stacking cups - they have lots of uses. She also liked a rigid container with a handle full of smaller bottles. Also, she liked playing with the roasting/ baking tins and wooden spoons. Alternatively, try sitting your DS in a large box!

Some really goo ideas here. You really don't need to spend a lot of money on toys or just default to a screen.

For garden toys, I would get a sandpit (with a cover to stop the local cats using it as a toilet - he will eat the sand occasionally!) and a bucket for water play. Again, you don't need lots of bought accessories - cups, spoons, bottles etc from around the house are fine.

Have you also thought about books? It is worth joining your local library, not only to borrow books but they are also likely to have baby/toddler story sessions or just host groups for mums and babies.

Mine has a Baby Einstein activity table which can be put on floor to sit at or put legs on so they can stand at it. It's got sounds and lots of stuff to fiddle with so keeps them entertained for ages😊

Have you also thought about books?

That was part of the rationale behind my encouraging littles to play with newspapers and magazines as objects from the moment they could hold and manipulate anything, @MagpiePi! (In addition to reading to them at every possible moment.)

Libraries are indeed a godsend for parents - but I’m horribly aware that there are far fewer of them than when I was a child, and those that are left aren’t always nice places to be. Anyone who still has a clean, well ordered and well run library close at hand is very lucky.

And 20 years ago I could take my nieces and nephews to any number of delightfully cosy bookshops with beanbags to lounge on and colouring in, and reading events … All gone, because Amazon.

DD really liked burying and uncovering stuff at this age, so an underbed lidded storage box became one of our best buys.

I'd put a couple of inches of sand or water in it, give her plastic cups, spoons etc and some little ish toys like cars or play mobile people and she'd scoop them in and out merrily for a while.

My 1 year old was always happy doing something that made him feel useful and important. Favourties that would keep him occupied for a decent time, were putting peas/pasta into a pan (although not the best if yours eats everything) and 'folding' towels or nappies for me. Also 'washing up'. Lots of praise at how amazingly helpful they are being, while you drink your coffee.

Thank you all for such lovely ideas!

My son does have a very big collection of books already as I am a big bookworm. I do read him a book or two before bed but he just likes to try to eat the book, he will eat absolutely anything haha. We do let him have screen time but only once a day for 20/30 minutes, he watches Miss Rachel (drives me absolutely insane).

He has some stacking cups and also blocks, but again he just chews them. We’ve spent endless hours trying to show him how to use these but he just seems happy chewing them, is this normal?

I actually purchased a sandpit two weeks ago, and was yet to buy sand for it. When I went out to the garden two days later, a cat had decided it was a public toilet.

Definitely normal for them to chew everything 🤣 my 20 month old still shoves absolutely everything into his mouth he gets his hands on. Can't wait for teething to be over😅 I don't bother giving mine books because he just turns them into mush😂

Thank you so much this is very reassuring haha. I can’t even put socks on him in the house because they end up in his mouth after five minutes 😂

Yep I remember that one🤣 still takes them off in the house but doesn't put them in his mouth every single time anymore 🤣🤣🤣

I love the being useful idea, @FinnJuhl.

One of my tiny relatives years ago liked to requisition everyone in the household’s stuff to make a pile. Fearsomely protective over it - which was all very charming and sweet until you couldn’t find your wallet or keys or a bill that needed paying - and he wasn’t willing to release them.

At least we don’t have DVD players any more with slots for car keys and earrings to be ‘posted’ through.

My 13m old plays with my 10 year olds toys he loves them! Lots of cars and trucks, balls and footballs! He prefers them to all of his own toys of course! Xx
he also loves to watch Disney film songs on YouTube and dances to them, his current fave is Prince Ali from Aladdin

I used to fill the travel cot with balls and pop them in.

I also used to turn it upside down (when they weren't in it) when they got older. Which used to send them into fits of laughter.

Plastic colander and spatula were another big hit.

Treasure baskets, these are also great.

And don't confine baths to bedtime. I used to stick my boys in the bath on rainy days with a whole load of toys. Sit on the loo with your coffee!

Don’t worry about trying to make him play with toys ‘properly’. It’s all about exploring and interacting with the world and seeing how things work. That’s why a bag of wooden blocks or a pile of scrunchy newspaper is much better than some electronic gadget or screen that the child sits and watches.