Fun things to do with non-walking toddler?

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Looking for inspiration for fun things to do over winter with my 18 month old who is not yet walking or even close (she bum shuffles only), especially while the weather is wet and windy. I usually take her swimming on my day off with her and we go to the park but it’s a bit limited what we can do other than the swings and looking at the ducks and the weather has been crap recently. Haven’t been to soft play but seems to be aimed at toddlers who are walking or at least close. Long walks are off as she gets sick of the pram after awhile.

Would appreciate any tips from others that had late walkers.

Lots of soft play places have baby sections for crawlers/non walkers. Otherwise it's pretty limited, I found that stage quite tough to be honest in terms of entertainment. Library, supermarket, baby sensory groups? Have you spoken with the health visitor about her not walking yet?

Thanks for the advice! This stage has definitely been going on a bit longer than expected. We do have a referral to physio for the walking although our GP wasn’t really concerned, just said bum shufflers are usually late walkers.

I wasn’t sure if the baby section of soft play would be worth paying for if it’s just toys out on a mat but maybe it’s more than that?

DC1 bum-shuffled, but still climbed before she could walk. If your park has a toddler slide could you encourage climbing the steps? The small sections in some soft plays have blocks and platforms, again you could encourage her to climb around.
I used to put mine in a puddle suit so she could shuffle about at the park and not ruin her clothes.

I hugely empathise; my bum-shuffler son walked at nearly 2, when his twin sister was already practically sprinting. YY to puddlesuits and just letting him move around, but also recommend bubble baths with different spoons, Tupperware etc in, going to outdoor concerts for a listen, new playgrounds.

Ours (inevitably) walked once we'd sorted the physio appointment. He's absolutely fine and still doing things on his own terms.

Where are you based? Lots of libraries do things like 'rhyme time' or 'rhyme and sing' type classes.

Bath in the middle of the day.
Go and watch the trains or buses or a building site
A car picnic. Basically you eat your sandwiches in the car. We used to go to a supermarket car park as it overlooked the railway line so it was eat lunch then see two trains.
Go to different parks ( that was a lockdown favourite)
Go to museums and art galleries. Yes it’s young but there’s plenty to see from the buggy and most now have interactive areas for children. Mine are 3 and 6 and very cross all the local museums are closed this week.

Places round us it's only £1 for a baby at soft play and £3 for an adult so I thought it was worth the money, especially if you can go with friends - easy way to keep them occupied while you chat. Some garden centres have small free soft play areas too. Good the GP wasn't worried. Hope she gets up and going soon!

And a positive to late walking - DD walked at 19 months I think after bum shuffling, but she was very steady on her feet from then on. Running within weeks really. It was a much easier transition than DC2 who walked at 14months but was wobbly and unsteady for ages.

My little one didn't walk til 22 months. Soft play, swimming, around to friends houses, cafes, you could get one of those smartrikes, supermarket trolleys are fun, pottery painting and you could do arts and crafts at home. Mine loved a football, so wherever we went we took one and a picnic blanket.

One of my NCT friends had a bum shuffler who was a dab hand at getting around the baby soft play, even scrambling up (with a shove from a toddler or a haul from another toddler at crucial moments!) the "stairs" to the slide.

Swimming - they're always good and tired afterwards too.
Rhyme time at the library
Church/ community playgroups
Gymnastic clubs often hold baby/ preschool sessions which are a much quieter alternative to soft play. (My late walker got her confidence with walking here from the sprung floor)

• Trip to the supermarket is always a thrill.
• “bird watching”
• garden centre
• under 5s soft play
• “baby sensory at home” we do a lot of games with buckets / bins. Put it in, take it out…. Shake it about…
• sticker based games and activities

I think soft play is perfect for this stage. Lots of things to hold on to if they want to stand or cruise, soft floor of they bump down. Fun but challenging environment.

You can definitely have fun at soft play before they can walk. Obviously you have to follow them round but they can practice climbing, crawl through tunnels, go down slides, play in the ball pit, its great exercise!
Before mine could walk I put them in a waterproof padded suit and waterproof bootees and let them crawl outside. Admittedly its quite wet on the grass right now but those playgrounds that have rubbery floors are quite good for this.