22 Activities for Busy Toddlers | Ideas to Keep Your Child Entertained (Overig)

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April 11, 2012 By Deanna Leave a Comment
The essence of toddlerhood is quite amazing. Imagine that we all were once so playful, inquisitive, innocent and sweet. Until the terrible two’s hit. Some lasting into terrible three’s. Your toddler can be fed, healthy, alert, and ready, but no matter what you do, that loving little person turns into a tantruming nightmare!

Not to fret, parents. This too, shall pass. Personally, I think that half of those tantrums can be maintained and even avoided by planning in advance and keeping your child occupied. Unfortunately, that amazing Fisher Price Learning Musical Table that has been sitting in the living room for the past 2 months is no longer of interest.

How can I entertain my busy toddler? The great thing is that children learn through play, so there are a bunch of fun activities for kids you can do that help with their muscle control, balance, dexterity, recognition, fine motor skills, and coordination. Here are 22 toddler activities to keep them occupied.

1. Bake cookies. Let your toddler pour, stir, roll the dough and use animal, shape or letter cookie cutters.

2. Cover your entire table with paper and give your toddler watercolors and a paint brush, they’ll go paint crazy! Crafts for toddlers are great to help occupy kids and teach fundamentals at the same time.

3. Let them make lunch! Spread the jelly, wash the fruit, serve onto plates. What ever you’re having, your toddler can help.

4. Bubbles. Enough said.

5. Set up an obstacle course in the grass, or living room if it’s large enough. Make your toddler jump over blocks, weave around cones, and even circle around a tree!

6. Get a large empty box. Your toddler will jump in. He’ll fill it up with odds and ends. He’ll push it. He’ll flip it over. He’ll draw on it. So many possibilities here.

7. Dig in the Dirt. Hit the beach, park, or even your backyard and DIG!

8. Head outside for a nature scavenger hunt. You can make it up as you go based upon what is around your neighborhood.

9. Kitchen Orchestra. Take out the pots and pans, serving spoons and spatulas. Let them bang away!

10. Play some upbeat music and DANCE!

11. Take out a toy she hasn’t seen in a couple months. It will be like new! In the process, hide the blocks and balls that have been in heavy rotation so you can take them out in a few weeks.

12. Blow up balloons, scatter them on the floor and smack them around.

13. Tickle your toddler. Have a tickle fest. He might tickle you back!

14. Spread out all of your toddlers favorite books on the floor and go through them. This is great for kids with short attention spans who won’t normally sit through a whole book. Ask questions. Point out colors.

15. Build a fort in the living room. Take blankets and all the pillows you can find and build around the couch. My kids complete their fort with stuffed animals to keep them company.

16. Redirect negative behavior. If the problem with a toy in the living room, take your child to another room with a completely different activity.

17. Scoop and pour water in the kitchen sink. Add bubbles, cups and small bowls to pour with. Note: remove clothing ahead of time, it’s probably gonna get soaked.

18. Grab every ball you have in your house and play kick ball. With all of them. At once.

19. Sing fun toddler songs. Old McDonald. Twinkle Twinkle little star. ABC’s. 5 Little Monkey’s Jumping on the Bed. Itsy Bitsy Spider (Baby Girl’s favorite). The list goes on.

20. Take out fun, friendly board games for toddlers. Hungry Hippos, Chutes and Ladders, Hasbro’s Memory Game and are my picks.

21. Put uncooked rice and pasta into empty, dry water bottles to make fun shakers. Use rainbow pasta and colored rice, add anything else that would make a cool sound when shaken.

22. Let your toddler mop the floor. Give them an empty bucket and let them go to work! If older toddlers get the fact that there is no water, give them a spray bottle with water in it so they can spray the floor.

How do you entertain your busy toddler? If you have any fun activities for kids or ideas for any games for toddlers, do share!

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