Things to do with a Toddler: Playtime Made Easy
1. Read books
Finding things to do with a toddler can be as simple as picking up a good book. No matter what age your child is, from a young infant all the way up, reading a book is always a good activity to do together. Babies and toddlers love hearing your voice, they learn language from hearing you speak. The illustrations, stories, and facts are all growing their knowledge and vocabulary. It’s so fun to watch as your toddler learns new words or ends up developing favorite books. Any time can be a good time for a book. Just grab a few and let baby sit in your lap and get reading!
2. Sing songs
Singing songs with your toddler is an excellent way to spend time together. You can do fun finger play type songs like “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “Patty Cake.” You can make up your own silly songs too, maybe to the same tune of a familiar one. Another good source for songs is old hymns or worship songs that you’re currently into. The one on one time singing is really great and will have you and baby smiling.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout
Out came the rain, and washed the spider out
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again
3. Dance
One of our toddlers favorite things to do is dance along with songs that we learned at Vacation Bible School. There are videos with movements for the songs and they are worship songs, so it is a really wonderful time when we turn those on. It’s fun for the whole family to sing along and try to learn all of the moves. The one shown below is one of my toddler’s personal favorites, “Make a Move,” by Orange Kids Music.
4. Count
You can count just about anything. One idea is to just start counting your fingers and help your toddler practice showing the numbers in their fingers. Another way to is to count any random objects you have. It could be toys you’re playing with together, food- like counting your goldfish, or counting seashells at the beach. Incorporating counting and basic early math into daily life makes it more relevant and easy to learn and it’s a fun way to challenge your toddler.
5. Talk
It’s important to always be talking to your baby or toddler. You can talk about anything and everything. When your toddler is playing, you can just think of yourself like an announcer giving a play by play of what is happening. Especially if you have a child who is a late talker, this will help them to pick up language as they hear you explaining and narrating. You can tell them what things are as they pick them up. Describe the colors, shapes, and uses. Try to choose a word or two to work on with them as you play with them and repeat it again and again throughout the play session and encourage them to say the word back to you.
6. Pretend
Pretending with a toddler can take so many forms. You can just begin by hugging stuffed animals and having them sit there as you pretend to feed them with a toy spoon or pretend to give them a drink with a small cup. You can pretend with your toddler that they are getting something for you.
My toddler loves to push his wagon and ask me what I want him to get for me and he will pretend to go to get me food. When he brings it back, I pretend to eat it. The great thing about pretending is you don’t need anything. You just use what you have and your imagination. Even if you’re just pretending to hold the food and it is air in your hand. It’s fun to pretend with your toddler. They will love it when you eat up what they made you and thank them with a smile.
7. Play with dough
Sensory play is so fun for toddlers and one of the easiest go to ways to do it is playing with dough. You can use store bought Play doh or make your own dough. There are also people who sell really adorable play kits on Etsy that include homemade dough along with some fun miniature toys to use with the play doh. Of course, make sure this activity is well supervised and don’t allow your baby or toddler to put the dough or any accessories in their mouths. The dough can be really fun though and it’s a good for motor development as well as your toddler can pinch and pull and film the dough, strengthening their hands and fingers as they play.
8. Go for a walk
Another thing to do with a toddler is walk. You can simply walk around your own yard, your own house, your neighborhood, the park, or whatever type of nature you can experience near you. Walking is so fun with a toddler and for a toddler. As you walk, observe what your toddler finds interesting. Maybe they will pause to check out a leaf or their own shadow or to listen to the sound of the water. Whatever you experience along the walk, you can take the time to really break it down and explain to your child what is happening around them. Collecting things on the walk can be fun too and make for a nice exploration basket for checking out back at home. Things like pine cones, sticks, leaves, rocks, and seashells make fun keepsakes and items to explore more.
9. Kinetic Sand
Kinetic sand comes in different colors and it is really fun for little ones to play with. It sticks together sort of like wet sand and is easy to mold or make into different shapes. I love to get a plastic container with a lid and take it on the patio and let them have fun with it there and then just put the lid back on when they are done and put it away. You can also hide things in the kinetic sand for your child to dig around and find. It can occupy your toddler for a long time, just make sure to put it away when they are done each time.
10. Swings
I cannot recommend having swings enough. When I had my first child, I knew a swing was a must. I remember spending time swinging on my swing set as a kid and I loved it so much. I ended up building my own, using these brackets, for our kids and I highly recommend it. We had tried some kit ones in the past and we found that the cheap wood that comes with the kits is so much lower quality than what you can get yourself. I recommend building your own frame from solid, thick wood and using straps or bolts to hang your own swings. The set I built has 3 spots to hang the swings from. Our swing set has had a baby swing and two regular swing seats, and we swapped out a saucer type swing when the baby swing was outgrown. The saucer swing is amazing and loved by everyone, even adults. Swing sets give your child a fun go to activity and are so worth the effort of building. If you take the time to build a solid one, it can bring years of fun to your family.
11. Water Play
Getting a kiddie pool and filling it up, splashing in the water hose or under a sprinkler, using a water table to scoop and pour… all of these are great things to do with your toddler. Water play is one of the simplest and most fun ways to spend time with your toddler. You can simply get a plastic storage bin and put water in it along with a few cups and bowls and you have a basic water play station. You can also get a water table if you like with some built on scoops or ramps for water toys. Keep it simple and enjoy!
12. Color/Draw/Paint
Always have blank paper and basic art supplies such as crayons, markers, pens, and pencils available. You definitely have to supervise at first to make sure the drawing stays on the paper, but giving access to art supplies frequently is so important for the development of drawing and early writing skills and it’s so fun! You can have a great time drawing things for your toddler and asking them to draw things for you. Creativity flourishes with open ended opportunities so I encourage blank paper over coloring books.
13. Bubbles
Another timeless and amazing activity for toddlers is playing with bubbles! You can use a bubble machine or just a bottle of bubbles with a wand. Kids love chasing after bubbles. They love seeing them float and talking both how big they are. Bubbles are so much fun!
So in summary, here is a quick list of things to do with a toddler:
- Read books
- Sing songs
- Dance
- Count
- Talk
- Pretend
- Play with dough
- Go for a walk
- Kinetic Sand
- Swings
- Water Play
- Color/Draw/Paint
- Bubbles
