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Toddler activity ideas

10 replies

Getthefiregoing · 03/03/2023 19:26

Off the back of a recent thread about how the days can pass (sometimes painfully!) slowly with toddlers, I thought it might be a nice idea to gather some ideas here of ways we entertain our wee ones and pass the days as pleasantly as we can!

My go to ideas beyond the usual toddler groups and playgroups are:

-The park (duh!). We've had a nice spate of dry, sunny weather recently and spring is on the way. The daffodils are out in the local park and the evenings are getting lighter. The park is always a hit in the afternoon. It's fun to take a box or basket and fill it with sticks and things to take home and play with in the tuff tray with his toy diggers. In the summer we take a picnic blanket, snacks and our bubble machine. Cue all the toddlers in the near vicinity drawn to us like a magnet. Instant friends to play with!

-Tuff trays! Lots of fun playing with diggers in sand, dirt, stones and leaves.

-We have a kitchen helper stand that allows our toddler to stand at the counter with us and "help" with cooking and baking. Sometimes I just fill the sink with soapy water and some containers and let him splash about while I get on with the cooking.

-We live by the beach so spend a lot of time wandering there with welly boots on and a bucket and spade, collecting rocks and shells.

-We have a few different annual passes to nearby attractions. They're so worth the money.

-There's a café local to us with a play area. We often meet friends for coffee and cake and the toddlers play together.

-Baths. Bath time is any time! A bath with pots and pans and various containers from the kitchen gives a good half hour of entertainment. Sometimes we run the bubble machine too!

-Make ramps for cars. We save cardboard from various packaging and make ramps all over the living room at different heights to push toy cars down.

-Themed boxes. At the moment my toddler is obsessed with screwing and unscrewing lids. I've made him a box with various containers of different sizes and colours with screw top lids. He spends ages taking the lids off, putting things inside them, and putting the lids back on. They're all plastic and metal containers so we sometimes bring them into the bath too.

Post all your best ideas here! Smile

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Peaplant20 · 03/03/2023 19:43

Love this! Currently our go-to’s are:

  • the park
  • colouring in/ sticker books
  • tuff tray (inspo from groups on Facebook)
  • toddling around the garden
  • baking
  • turning the lounge into a soft play
HyggeTygge · 03/03/2023 19:50

Great idea for a thread!
Check out 5 Minute Mum on Instagram/ her book. Tons of these sorts of ideas with minimal equipment/setup needed. Works well as they get older too. Also Becky's Treasure Baskets.
Simple things like draw a very basic 'setup' on a piece of paper and give them stickers to make a scene.

Teddy picnic/ birthday party - we wrap our toys up in pillowcases as 'presents'.

If you can't be arsed getting them in the bath just a big tub of water and stuff to play in it / see if floats/sinks - with a lot of towels underneath in the bathroom/kitchen. They'll get wet anyway though!

When a little older (and in summer) - this does need a bit of prep - put small toys, items, etc in a tub then fill with water and freeze. They can spend ages melting the ice on a big tray/outside with water droppers, jugs etc to free the toys.

Getthefiregoing · 03/03/2023 22:00

@HyggeTygge Absolutely love the idea of a teddy bear picnic- will definitely be doing that.

@Peaplant20 I often wish we had a spare room to fill with soft play equipment Grin

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Shimmermetimbers · 03/03/2023 22:51

I set up his train set between kitchen and sitting room and he plays with it a lot more that way as its more of a journey.

He loves tipping a big container of dried pasta into a saucepan, stirring it and putting it back again. He can do this for a good half hour. I mix up pasta shapes as well.

We take the sofa apart and make an assault course in the sitting room.

Hide and seek - I hide he seeks, wears him out too!

Shimmermetimbers · 03/03/2023 22:54

Oh and we go on long walks around our local town ( in addition to parks/nat Trust etc) he loves pressing all the buttons to cross the road, waiting for the green man, going to the library, going in lifts and on escalators. It's great fun and nice to be out too!

Getthefiregoing · 04/03/2023 06:21

Shimmermetimbers · 03/03/2023 22:51

I set up his train set between kitchen and sitting room and he plays with it a lot more that way as its more of a journey.

He loves tipping a big container of dried pasta into a saucepan, stirring it and putting it back again. He can do this for a good half hour. I mix up pasta shapes as well.

We take the sofa apart and make an assault course in the sitting room.

Hide and seek - I hide he seeks, wears him out too!

Why have I never thought to do this with the train set? Shock We've always kept it in one room but we've enough track to run it through a couple of rooms. Will have to do this today!

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Marchforward · 04/03/2023 09:08

Swimming
Going to a supermarket with mini trolleys, bonus if it has a cafe

Prinnny · 04/03/2023 10:01

DD3.5 loves her craft box and making cards especially will occupy her for ages! Painting is always a hit, as is playdoh and kinetic sand.

Another favourite is ‘animal rescue’ a big bowl of chocolate custard mix and another bowl of soapy water, the animals getting muddy and then need rescusing washing, drying and putting back in the farm.

She’s getting a bit old for the tuff tray now but did love different cereals and spoons and containers.

HyggeTygge · 04/03/2023 10:33

We got some of those foam floor tiles in a second-hand shop (that fit together like jigsaws). Kids loved making a "running track" through the house or making dens by building them as cubes (depending on the size they could be for toys if not big enough for the kids)

Also I've never met a small child that doesn't LOVE playing ice cream shops. You can get sets by Melissa and Doug or ELC etc.

Ikea easel and those big rolls of paper they sell. You can lie the child down on the paper roll and draw round then for them to decorate/draw themself on (or with back of wallpaper etc).

Getthefiregoing · 04/03/2023 17:57

Marchforward · 04/03/2023 09:08

Swimming
Going to a supermarket with mini trolleys, bonus if it has a cafe

Ah those mini trolleys are great! As long as the supermarket is quiet Confused

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