48 Easy Toddler Activities To Keep Them Busy … Until Naptime

Toddler activities do not need to be difficult. There are a lot of easy toddler activities that young children can do.

But keeping your toddler busy all day can be a full-time job. Kids at that age are so full of energy and curiosity, they constantly strive to be physically and mentally challenged.

The problem is finding the time and mental energy to come up with unique ways that keep your toddler happy and engaged.

Toddler Activities Should Be Simple And Fun

Just keep it simple. Since toddlers are growing, they just need playtime that is easy and fun.

Because toddlers are 1 to 3 years old, their activities should help them to develop their fine motor skills. They need simple tasks that help them move those little hands and feet. You can try the following toddler activities and see which one your little one likes.

Although It is true that some people have a knack for craft ideas, you can find toddler activities that are simple and fun for your toddler to complete.

Just keep in mind … toddlers need fun activities to help reach their developmental milestones. These arts and crafts are educational and require few things to set it up. I kept a toy box that kept the basic essentials so that my toddlers always had something to play with.

And the best of all … they are easy on the pocket. They will show your toddler’s creative side and help your favorite tot to grow smart….

48 Easy Toddler Activities

By age six months onwards, your toddler has become even more curious about his surroundings, experimenting on various things, putting on his mouth whatever he gets his hands on.

It is by this time that you see that your baby is excited to explore the world around him. You have to level-up to more advanced ways to improve your toddler’s overall development

Arts and crafts for toddlers – Toddlers love to draw and paint. So instead of your walls, you should try an easel. Depending on your budget, an art easel is convenient for painting, and finger painting.
Painting – Although basic art activities like coloring pages are fantastic for building artistic skills, toddler crafts should also be interactive so your little one doesn’t lose interest. Painting with brushes also help to develop fine motor skills
Playdough – Children can create an imaginary world anywhere. If you introduce them to playdough, your kids can make anything, If they’re this creative with just a sock, then think what they can do with playdough.
Make musical instruments – Your kids will have fun with making musical instruments out of empty materials. For example, they can construct a trumpet out of a cardboard roll. They can also create shakers by filling up containers with different materials such as rice, coins, or pasta.
Simple puzzle games – Toddlers love to put things together. Simple puzzle games are a great way for them to learn shapes and sizes. As they get older, you can get more complex puzzle games.
Read stories – If you want to improve your child’s reading skills, you should read aloud to your child every day. Hopefully, this will spark you to start a love of books. This can include board books, pop-up books, ones with flaps, ones that make noises.
Shape sorters – Shape sorting games can occupy your children for hours. You can either make your own games from craft materials or purchase ready-made shape sorting toys. They encourage problem-solving and spatial awareness. Your toddler can also name the shapes as they put them in
Magnets for refrigerator – Refrigerator magnets improve so many skills. Your child can learn to spell, sort colors, and recognize shapes. There are tons of household items that can be used for magnets, so look around and use your imagination.
Build a fort – Simple sheets, blankets and furniture can transform your living room or your child’s bedroom into an exciting adventure. Kids can spend an entire day playing in a fort you help them customize themselves.
Break out the coloring book. The reason that coloring books have been around for centuries is simple. They keep kids occupied and creative for hours! Keep plenty of crayons, craft paper, and coloring books around. They appeal to children and can keep your kids busy all day.
Make-believe with dolls or toy figures – Playing make-believe encourages little children to use their imagination. Many times, imaginative play can help parents to realize that their child’s likes and dislikes. With a bit of playtime, you can use make believe to teach your kids about life skills like brushing their teeth or washing their hands.
Write a book – This activity may eventually turn your toddler into the next J. K. Rowling. Take simple white pages from a notebook or grab several sheets of colored construction paper. Fold them in half and staple them to create a blank book that your child can customize.
Dance to music – Every toddler loves to dance. Make a cubby (see pretend play), have a cd player in the cubby, and some musical instruments for your toddler to experiment with. And once the music starts, every child that I know jumps up and dance. It is so entertaining to watch them moving their arms and legs. And it is a great exercise too.
Blow up balloons – You can blow up and chase balloons around the house with your toddler. Get the balloons with numbers on it as this is a great learning opportunity.
Do a funny walk – You can play “How many different walks can you do?” e.g., backward, giant steps, like an elephant. This will teach new words to your toddler.
Cardboard house – Often parents feel that their children require expensive toy furniture. Remember the refrigerator box in the backyard when you were a kid? Everyone played for hours, or until the box fell apart. Colorful imagination is worth far more than any expensive jungle gym or playhouse.
Play musical chairs – Put the music on and let the music play. Unfortunately, you need at least two kids to play this game. But there are more musical games that your toddler can play. Freeze tag is another fun alternative. Your toddler can take teddy bears and dolls for a lap around the playtime too.
Obstacle course – You can join three or four large boxes together to create a tunnel for your toddler to crawl through. Set up a simple obstacle course around the house where your child may have to crawl. You can put music on and dance around the course too.
Toy kitchen – Toddlers love to imitate Mom and Dad. You can find a toy set with lots of plastic bowls with lids, kid-size broom/mop/dustpan, measuring cups, pots, and pans with lids and this will keep them occupied for hours.
Indoor super softball – When your toddler is inside, softballs are safe for indoors. You can use empty plastic bottles as skittles. Just keep it simple and in an area of the house where there is some space.
Hit the balloon – Just for some exercise, you can see how high your toddler can jump to touch a balloon hanging from a doorway. Alter to height to keep it challenging. Hang a balloon from a doorway and let your toddler use a plastic bat to practice hitting it.
Walk with a balloon – For a fun walk, your toddler can walk with a balloon tucked between your toddler’s knees. Draw a line with chalk along the floor or lie a piece of rope along the floor. For a challenge, you can ask your toddler to walk along the line to practice balance.
Basket laundry – Kids love to play softball and you two can play laundry basket softball. Scrunch up and tape a piece of newspaper into a ball and throw it to each other, For points, you can or hit it with a toddler bat into the laundry basket.
Set up a box – With a simple box, your toddler can pretend to be a cat or squirrel jumping in and out of an animal home. Place a cardboard box on the ground and ask your toddler to jump inside and outside of it.
Lay down mattress – You can lay down a mattress or doona for your toddler to roll across. The beauty of this toddler activity is that your toddler can just close his eyes when ready for a nap.
Hide and seek – You can use this simple game to teach numbers to your toddler. Count to ten and ask your toddler. Count slowly and have your toddler repeat. In no time, he will know his numbers.
Roll a ball – In an open space, you can place a small ball between you and your toddler and roll back and forth. Make sure there is plenty of room and nothing that is breakable. Again, you can count to twenty as each one of you catches the ball.
Tunnel ball – Play tunnel ball with your toddler by rolling a ball through your legs to each other. Sit some distance from your child with your legs apart. Once your toddler can catch, you can roll a ball backward and forwards to each other.
Help out in the kitchen – When it is time for dinner, you can let your child help you prepare dinner. Kids love water, and they are drawn to different colored foods like tomatoes, celery, apples, and other produce. Provide your child with a large bowl of water and explain the importance of clean food
Reward cleans up time – Kids always should clean their room. So why not make it fun and rewarding? Hide snacks, loose change, and other incentives throughout your child’s messy room. This is a great way to reward good behavior, while also keeping your child busy.
Scavenger hunt – This is great for so many reasons. Your toddler will keep busy and learn about new objects. Write a photo scavenger list and read it to your child to find.
Outdoor treasure hunt – This can be done in the house, garden, park or even on a short walk. Hide some small items, toys, or sweets in various places. To make it interesting, you can draw maps with “X Marks the Spot” and discover the treats together.
Create a nature collage – Make a bracelet of tape with the sticky part out. Go around the backyard and collect interesting objects from nature. Afterward, take them off the tape and glue them to colorful construction paper…. A green work of art.
Draw outdoors with chalk – This is a fun toddler activity that practices using hands and getting fresh air. It is a chance for your toddler to all draw over the floor and not get into trouble. Just a little rain … and the mess is gone.
Hopscotch – Your toddler can also play hopscotch, by drawing squares with chalk. Your child will love jumping in the squares and you can start to teach numbers.
Pretend like a frog – Place a hoop on the ground, ask your toddler to jump inside and outside of it. She can pretend to be a frog jumping in and out of the pond.
Skip rope – This is a great exercise for toddlers and it’s a chance for them to play outdoors. In the beginning, it may be a challenge to coordinate hands and feet, but after a while, they will have a ball.
Shake like a snake – For a different challenge, you can shake a skipping rope on the floor, so it moves like a snake. Your toddler can try to jump over the rope without touching it.
Move like an animal – When it comes to nature, you can show your toddler how animals move. You can show your toddler how to imitate animals. If they like to visit zoos, you can get your kids to try hop like a rabbit, gallop like a horse, slither like a snake, or wave trunk like an elephant.
Ring around the posey – Most kids love to play group games. My child also enjoys playing ring around the posy because it is so interactive for kids of all ages.
Outdoor softball – Some softball toys can actually hold the ball upright so your toddler can take a swing at it. Take it outdoors and your toddler can aim for the back of your yard.
Have a puppet show – A puppet show is a great way for your kids to use their imagination. If you sort through your old clothes, there’s bound to be something that doesn’t fit. If you are feeling ambitious, you can create a puppet theatre with finger puppets from paper.
Follow-the-Leader – Play around the house with your toddler or around your obstacle course. Change the type of walk you do.
Play free tag – Set up boxes so your toddler can weave in and out of them in different ways.
Target ball – Make a box with a target or paint a target on a large piece of paper on the wall. Throw the ball to hit the target. You can add letters as targets, so ABC becomes much easier.
Play with toy boats – This one is a really old pastime, but tons of fun. Get a plastic bottle and cut it in half lengthways. Make the sail from a wooden Kebab stick and some paper. Hang some weight to the bottom of the boat to make sure it doesn’t keel over. A lollypop stick will work. Once ready, walk to your nearest pond or stream, or even fill up the bathtub and go sailing.
Water bench – Place a small table outdoors with funnels, plastic water toys, a watering can, and measuring cups to transport and pour water. This is a good time to introduce simple math as they add up cups. When outdoors, you should supervise your toddler with any water play.
Sandbox– Similarly, a sand bucket presents different challenges to a young child. Add a little water to your sand and suddenly they can start making sandcastles! Personally, I prefer a sandbox with a cover that will keep stray cats out.

More Tips For Easy Toddler Activities

These toddler activities are designed for parents who need more ideas for playtime.

The best thing you can do to help your toddler learn is to spend time with them and encourage them to play. These are some tips to help you to use toddler activities in a positive way:

Focus on activities that are fun and developmental.
There are tons of other household items that can be used, so look around and use your imagination.
Give lots of opportunities for your child to be active each day.
It is very important that your child head outside and enjoy the fresh air.
Limit TV exposure
toddler activities should be simple and easy for those tiny hands to handle.
Keep a watchful eye on water activities and small parts to ensure they don’t go in mouths or stuck anywhere they’re not supposed to go!

Most importantly, many of these activities are parent-directed. Please supervise your toddler and be mindful of the play materials you choose to use.

Whenever possible, try to follow your toddler’s lead and use the activities to gently guide and inspire your toddler.