20 Ways to Keep Toddlers Busy
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Please use discretion with these activities, especially if your child puts things in their mouth. Always be right next to your child.
If you have a toddler, you KNOW that they constantly keep you on your toes! You already have your hands full and coming up with ideas for keeping them busy is not exactly at the top of your list. What if I told you that I have 20 easy ways for keeping toddlers busy?! These ideas are easy to set up and use supplies you probably already have in your home!
1. Color Matching Game
This game using colorful pom poms
is perfect for toddlers! You will need to introduce this game to them before just letting them play independently. My toddler plays this game ALL the time. Check out this post for more details.
2. Playdough Playdough is great. I like to put it on a tray or cutting board to contain the mess. I love playdough because kids can be creative and it also builds strength in their hands for fine motor skills. We use homemade playdough, and we especially love our jello playdough. You can find the recipe here.
3. Pipe Cleaners and Colander
Have your toddler stick pipe cleaners in the holes of a colander. This is excellent for practicing fine motor skills!
4. Shape Sorter
I made our own shape sorter using soft shapes from Michaels and an oatmeal container. We get this activity out frequently and keeps my little one occupied for a long time! For more details, see this post.
5. Contact Paper Art Place a piece of clear contact paper
on the table. Tape the sides down. Then give your toddler materials to stick on there. Check out this post for details.
6. Paint in Bags Place paint in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Seal the bag, then tape them to a window. Let your toddler move the paint around in the bag using their fingers. (FYI: This activity usually goes pretty quick for my toddler.)
7. Pack ‘n Play
Set up a pack ‘n play and put books and stuffed animals inside. Let them play quietly. This may take some training for them play independently (and quietly!), but if you work with them starting out for just a few minutes playing in there per day, they can work their way up to 20+ minutes.
8. Chunky Puzzles Gather some easy puzzles for your toddler to complete. We use Melissa and Doug Puzzles and they are easy enough for my toddler to do on his own.
9. Pom Poms Through a Tube
I love this activity! Just take a paper towel tube and tape it to the wall. Then have your toddler drop pom pomsthrough it into a bowl. It sounds so simple, but my toddler really loves it! And the best part is how quiet this activity is.
10. Race Cars on Tape
Create a race track using masking tape on the floor. Then let your little one play quietly with cars on the track.
11. Fabric Scrap Box
Cut up pieces of fabric and place them in an empty wipes container. Have your toddler pull the scraps out and then put them back in. This is great for practicing fine motor skills. For more on this, see this post.
12. Magnets on Fridge
Simply have your toddler stick magnets on the fridge. We use alphabet letters and magnetic pom poms. I really like these foam alphabet letters
.
13. Cotton Balls
Let your child play with cotton balls. They can sort them in an ice cube tray. This is also a very quiet activity. They can also have fun tearing the cotton balls a part, which can get messy!
14. Corner for Toys
Tape off a section of the floor for them to sit in. Also tape a spot where you place a bucket of toys. Have them stay in the taped off section for play time. This may take some training, so start off trying this for a few minutes at a time.
15. Bubble Wrap
Have your toddler pop bubble wrap. This one can get noisy, but if you need a quick activity for your toddler to do, this would be great! Just please make sure you watch them because this can be a choking hazard.
16. Build a Tower
Using cubes or blocks, have them build a tower. These unifix cubes would be great to use. We use this Discovery Toys Pegboard
to build towers.
17. Coloring
This is a simple activity, but have them color. Sometimes we get our window markers and I let them color on the windows.
18. Pipe Cleaners in a Tube
This is just like #9, but use pipe cleaners
to put through a paper towel tube. My toddler actually came up with this activity. He loves it!
19. Pipe Cleaner Sprinkles
This activity is simply cutting up pipe cleaners (into 2 inch pieces) and have your toddler poke them through the holes in a parmesan container. This is awesome for working on fine motor skills!
20. Sensory Balloon Animals
We made sensory balloon bugs a while back and they are a huge hit. When I want my toddler to play quietly, I get these out and let him play with them. To learn more about them, see this post. Once again, please use discretion with this activity. If your child puts a lot of objects in their mouth, this may not be a good activity for them.
Want more toddler ideas? My new book has over 200 ideas for toddlers! The book will be available on March 27th, but you can preorder it today! Order it on Amazon right here.
Check out some of my favorite resources for toddlers!
The Toddler Journey
Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board
Melissa & Doug 2053 Shapes Knob Wooden PuzzleMelissa & Doug Hide and Seek Farm Wooden Activity Board With Barnyard Animal MagnetsMelissa & Doug Puzzle Storage Rack – Wire Rack Holds 12 Puzzles(Puzzles Not Included)Play-Doh Modeling Compound 10-Pack Case of Colors (Amazon Exclusive), Non-Toxic, Assorted Colors, 2-Ounce CansCaydo 240 Pieces 1 Inch Pom Poms for Hobby Supplies and DIY Creative Crafts Decorations, Assorted ColorsMagnetic Letters and Numbers for Educating Kids in Fun -Educational Alphabet Refrigerator Magnets -82 PiecesDozen Plastic Toy Safari AnimalsDISCOVERY TOYS GIANT PEGBOARD #1562Crayola; Washable Window Markers; Art Tools; 8 Different Colors; Bright, Bold Colors; Works on All Glass SurfacesCreativity Street Chenille Stems/Pipe Cleaners 12 Inch x 6mm 100-Piece, Assorted ColorsSticker Activity ABC: Over 100 Stickers with Coloring Pages (Sticker Activity Fun)Melissa & Doug On the Go Water Wow! Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pads, 3-pk, Animals, Alphabet, Numbers
I have been pulling my hair out trying to juggle my 20-month-old while schooling my older kids. What fabulous ideas–THANK you!
with grandpa, favorite play is called “imagination”
I would advise against using dry beans. When I was a teenager, a mother was preparing beans for a meal. She dropped a bean on the floor. Her toddler picked it up, put it in his mouth and choked on it. Before she could get help for him, the bean swelled in his throat and he died. Very sad for our whole small town community.
We’ve done a few of these our favorite is the tube idea although we did alter it a bit. We taped it to a chair and used ping pong balls without a bowl. The ball fall through the tube and roll off, they get to chase it down and start again. They loved it.
Great idea!! Glad they loved it!
Number 15 is not a choking hazard. Rather, it is a suffocation hazard.
Thank you for pointing this out. My child does not play with this often, but when he does I am always with him and watching him. He does not put things in his mouth…but you never know.
My elderly mother-in-law uses long silcone tipped tongs to pick things up off the floor. My granddaughter saw her and decided to try to pick items up off the floor with tongs – it held her interest for quite a long time. You could pick up blocks, pompoms, ping pong balls etc. and drop them into a bowl.
That is such a great idea! We will have to try that one.
Loved these! I wanted to add a playdoh recipe that’s edible for those kiddos that still try everything in their mouth… Cocowheats (powdered cream of wheat) plus a little water and tsp or so of olive oil till nice dough consistency.
That sounds delightful! Thank you!
I used to tape bubble wrap to my floors and let the kids ride their little tricycles in the house in winter. We also closed the pocket door in our galley kitchen and played hockey with foam “sticks” and soft foam “pucks”. I painted one wall with chalkboard paint and let them write on just THAT wall, after my DD colored one wall with crayons. In our newer house, we rescued a huge chalkboard from a school demo and now have it for “school” use. In my kitchen, I painted chalkboards on the recessed squares of each door (24 in all) and now my nieces and nephews draw pictures on them when they come. We have colored chalk. Our house was the one all the kids hung out at.
DON’T try this on laminate wood flooring!! It takes the finish off when you remove the tape!!
I love your ideas. Some.are pretty easy to.make which makes me want to do it. It’s much better than giving my ipad with numbers song on it.
Jasbir @jasbeeray recently posted…The power of words