The Beginner's Guide to Toddler Activities

If you’re a mom, like myself, you know just how hard it can be to get a clingy toddler engaged in an activity by themselves. It’s even harder to get anything else done when you have a toddler clinging to you all day. Add on top of that all of the attitude, sass, and wildness that comes with raising a young child, and it’s enough to break someone.

That’s where at-home toddler activities come in! These quickly became my go-to when I needed anywhere from five (bathroom break anyone?) to thirty minutes (sending an email!) to take care of something. As time went on, they also became an awesome way to connect with my kid, engage them in meaningful learning, and burn out some of that non-stop energy.

As a previous teacher, I loved, loved, LOVED lesson planning. Coming up with new, exciting, engaging lessons was one of my absolute favorite parts of my job. Now, as a stay-at-home-mom, I see myself in a similar capacity. While I’m not teaching 30+ students, I get the opportunity to do some really cool deep dives with my own kids into cool activities and subjects that they love. And best of all, it all comes in the form of play.

Why are Toddler Activities at home important?

Play! This is exactly what Toddler Activities at home should be. PLAY! And only, play. Having done a lot of research on childhood development, it always fascinates me how much the world pushes academics on kids so early. When actually, all of the research says otherwise. Play is the absolute, number one, most important skill children should be learning before age five (and truthfully, probably for several years after that, too!). I don’t shy away from talking about the alphabet, numbers, etc. But I also don’t make that the focus of our play and you will never find me sitting in a room drilling my kids with flashcards.

Setting up these activities for your toddler allows your toddler countless opportunities to engage in self-directed play, which does several things :

It gives you some TIME back.
It teaches them how to play by themselves and direct their own play.

That second part might sound confusing, since you are the one setting up the activity. But the important part here, is that you are simply offering the chance to play and the tools to do it. You are not directing the play or involving yourself. That’s your kid’s job! It’s a skill that has to be learned and these activities are one of the best ways to teach it.

What exactly are Toddler Activities at home?

Toddler activities can be anything that your child is interested in. I’ve found that for my wild toddler we’ve had the best luck with things that are sensory, outdoors, and involve movement. For example: driving monster trucks through foam, or painting shapes on our sliding glass doors. We also do other forms of play, but the best activities usually involve those three elements. If I know there is a topic that he is really interested in, I will try to incorporate it into our play that week (learning to use scissors, tarantulas, etc!)

How to Get Started

Check out one of my earlier blog posts here about what supplies you might want to have on hand. But honestly, you don’t really need anything special to get started at all. I got started by considering what my toddler was interested in, and what items I had on hand at home that he might enjoy playing with. One of my very first activities with him ever was simply filling up a plastic bin with rice, and handing him some scoops and bowls. He was probably just under one year old and very interested in pouring and transferring. It was the perfect activity for him.

When you’re ready to try some other activities, check out my blog for activity ideas, or go to my Instagram. And rest assured, I’m not the only mom out there with incredible activity ideas. Do a quick google search and you will find plenty more. Don’t get overwhelmed with all of your options. Just pick a few to try that seem reasonable, and start there!

Common Questions/FAQ About Toddler Activities

Check out this post to see my Top 10 supplies to have on hand.

Research shows over and over again that PLAY is the number one skill children should be developing before the age of five. Pushing academics early on doesn’t accelerate learning and can actually harm your child’s academic development in the long run.

Playing with toys is an extremely important skill. But many toddlers struggle to self-initiate play. Setting out the tools for an engaging activity can help toddlers develop those skills on their own. It can also keep their attention for longer (hello, finished coffee cup!).

Each activity is going to vary based on your child’s readiness. I would say the ages range from 6 months to 10+ years old. (At some point, mom activities just aren’t cool anymore.)

Yes and no. At first, it probably will. But as you practice during these activities your kids will learn to contain the mess (as you set rules regarding it.) Even if they do make a small mess, the time freedom that comes with it will probably be worth the 3 minute cleanup afterwards.

And that’s it! You are ready to get started. Still not sure what to do? Check out my blog posts for some ideas on fun activities you could try, or hop on my Instagram for inspiration. You’ve got this! Have a question? Leave a comment below!

Please follow and like us: