12 Awesome At-home Activities To Keep Your Toddler Occupied

“What are you doing with them all day?”

That’s one of the questions I get all the time as a stay at home mom of 2 little ones, and I guess now with the Covid-19 situation that made public areas into danger zones, more and more people are looking for things you can enjoy in the safety of your home.

It’s true that staying home with babies and toddlers isn’t such an easy task. While they are undoubtedly very cute, they also have oh-so-much energy and can get bored easily. And believe me, the one thing you want to avoid when it comes to toddlers is boredom.

So in order to keep your toddlers occupied and happy without leaving the house, here are a few things that they are sure to enjoy, and as a bonus – they are also super simple and either free or seriously cheap. So what’s your choice for today’s activity?

1. Let them play with water

Little ones naturally love water, so why not let them have fun in such a simple way? You don’t even have to go to the beach or pool to enjoy playing with water, you can easily do it at home and it can keep them happy for a while. To do it safely, put your little one in a high chair, give them a little bucket of water and some small toys and prepare to be surprised when you see how much they enjoy.

If your toddler is in the right age, give them some toy kitchen dishes, so they can use the water to fill the dishes up and make coffee, soup and whatever else they want. Water is such a great choice since you have so many options to mix it up and create different activities around it. Here you can find some cool ideas.

2. Chase and pop bubbles

You can find a bubbles blower in every dollar store and little ones enjoy it so much. All you need to do is blow some bubbles and they will happily run around trying to catch and pop them. Next you can aim to make big bubbles and have your toddler laugh out loud when they pop. Want something fancier? {you can always try something like that.}

3. Show them around the house

Think about places they are not allowed into normally, and take them exactly there. Toddlers are curious and will be delighted to learn what’s in the locked cupboard and what’s on the high shelf they can’t reach. Just keep in mind not to show them things that they can reach or open by themselves, the last thing you need is to create confusion in their little minds when it comes to boundaries.

4. Let them play with (edible) play dough

While store bought play dough isn’t something you want to give your kid to play with if he / she still put things in their mouths, making the play dough at home is something you can do fairly quickly and easily – just mix 1 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of water, add 1/2 cup salt and a bit of oil till you get a nice and soft dough. Obviously they shouldn’t eat it but if a piece of it ends up in the little mouth, it’s really not an issue. (and hey, they will find it waaay too salty anyway!)

5. Use socks to make puppets

This one is a sure way to create lots of giggles and fun. Take a pair of your socks and a pair of their socks. Put one sock on each hand and use them as a puppet. You can sing songs, make funny voices or give kisses. Get ready for lots of laughter! Sock puppets are very simple to make, but if you want a tutorial or are looking for inspiration, pinterest is stuffed with ideas!

6. Get musical

It doesn’t have to be baby songs, you can use your favourite music for it! Just choose something happy and catchy (and make sure the words are appropriate!) and you are good to go! And once you are all out of energy, you can switch to singing or “playing instruments” like drumming on a toy box. Little ones love music and you can use it’s a great way to keep them occupied.

7. Let them draw on the wall

Okay, not on any wall. In the shower. If you ask me, bath crayons are such an awesome invention! They work just like any other crayons, but you can simply wipe the colour off the surface in a moment. That makes them ideal for a fun activity in the shower. Your kid can draw on the tiles as much as he / she likes! We enjoy this Crayola set – you get 10 different crayons, each wrapped in a plastic tube for easy holding in the wet tub.

8. Take selfies together

I don’t know about your kids, but my 2 year old doesn’t let us take proper photos of him. He finds the whole smiling-to-the-camera thing boring. On the other hand, if he can see himself on the screen… now that’s a whole different story. And if you can use a filter or any funny options, even better!

9. Let them help you

From a very young age, your baby is interested in everything around them and will be happy to join you in whatever you do. So if you want to clean the table, give them a little wipe as well and watch as they imitate your actions. Guess what? not only you got that table cleaned and they feel proud to help, you also implement some good habits in the process.

10. Play in the snow

Yes, we are still talking about at-home activities! Believe it or not, you can make snow in a moment by mixing 2 cups of corn flour with 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Yes, yes, it’s that simple. Just put it in a shallow box and have fun with your toddler. You can even make a little snowman together!

11. Play balloon tennis

All you need is a balloon and two empty paper towel rolls. Balloons are always a great option as they are so light and most babies love them. You can play tennis or just try to keep the balloon up as long as possible using the empty rolls.

12. Bake cookies

Little ones don’t have too much patience so choose a quick recipe. That way they can sit in a high chair and watch you mix the ingredients. You can also measure the ingredients and let them add them one by one into the mixing bowl. Depends on the kind of cookies you’re baking, your toddler can participate in different ways: If you roll out the dough – they can cut out shapes using different cutters, if you have stamps – you make balls of dough and they can stamp them, and if you go with chocolate chip cookies – place balls of dough on the baking tray and let them press the chocolate chips in!

Do you have any other great ideas that always work with your little ones? Please share in the comments below! 👇