Playing with your little one is part of the fun of parenting, but sometimes you need activities to keep your toddler busy.
It could be that you need to get some work done, or maybe you’re trying to clean your home. Even if it’s just to give yourself a break, it is OK to get your toddler playing independently!
These toddler play ideas are perfect for keeping your toddler busy to give you some valuable time.
Your toddler should of course always be supervised! When I needed time to get things done I would set my toddler up with an activity in the same room as me, so I could keep an eye on them and keep them safe but I could also just let them get on with it.
I’ve got some fab ideas for indoor and outdoor activities!
You may also like these fun toddler crafts and these easy summer crafts for toddlers.
Indoor activities for toddlers
First of all let’s take a look at some easy independent play activities for toddlers to do indoors.
1. Play dough
It’s a classic for a reason! Play dough still entertains my kids now they are aged seven and nine, and to a toddler it is the best stuff ever!
Just play dough on its own can be entertaining, but try to add different colours and a few accessories for play such as cookie cutters, a small rolling pin and blunt plastic knife for them to slice the dough.
2. Busy book
There are so many cool busy books out there and they offer not only a lot of fun, but also great ways for your toddler to learn new things. It’s a win-win!
I love sticker books, but you can also get fun busy books with velcro accessories to add to pages. These can keep your little one busy for ages!
3. Cardboard box
A cardboard box that’s big enough for your child to climb into is enough to keep them entertained for a good hour!
Cut out a door and a window to make it extra fun.
Another option is to allow your toddler to colour the card box and doodle all over it.
4. Draw a makeshift track for their cars
You can either use a large cardboard box, big enough for them to climb into, and draw a series of roads on the base of the box.
Your toddler can then get in the box with their toy cars and drive them all around the roads.
Add in drawings of buildings and fun features like trees and postboxes to bring it all to life.
You can also do this on an extra large roll of paper, or on a large sheet of card.
5. Create a makeshift track with tape
If you don’t have any card to draw a car track or roads on, then use tape (masking tape is best) to form a road on your floor.
Once they’re done playing, just rip up the tape!
6. Build a den
Get some chairs, or use the back of the sofa, to drape a blanket over and create a fun den.
Your toddler can fill it with their favourite soft toys. Don’t forget to give them a torch to play with as well!
7. Making clothes for a doll
This doesn’t have to be very elaborate activity – toddlers won’t be able to do intricate sewing just yet!
However if you give them some fabric, or tissue or paper, along with tape and craft scissors, then they can put together some cool, stylish outfits for their favourite toys.
8. Picnic
An indoor picnic is great fun for toddlers, especially if you get their toys to come along too!
Set up a blanket on the floor in the room where you are working, cleaning, resting etc, and give them their lunch as a floor picnic.
Separate everything your toddler is eating into different bowls so they can pick away at different things and try to have lots of variety to keep them interested.
9. Build a pillow fort
Give your toddler pillows and cushions from around the home and challenge them to build their own pillow fort.
My two kids love doing this, and they also love just building walls out of pillows and cushions.
10. Colouring sheets
There are a ton of free colouring pages and sheets you can find online. I even have a few on this website to offer you!
Check out my free summer colouring pages and free Halloween colouring pages for some fun things for toddlers to do.
11. Sensory play bin
A sensory play bin or tray can be filled with whatever you can think of – provided it’s safe for your toddler to play with.
You could include dry pasta and rice, shaving foam or water. Add different toys and things like shells for them to mix around in there too.
12. Banging pots and pans
Simply hitting a few pots and pans with a wooden spoon is a surprisingly fun activity for a toddler!
Make them their own little drum kit and give them a couple of wooden spoons so they can create their own music.
13. Helping with the housework
Kids of this age actually love doing housework! I think it’s all to do with seeing their parents do things and wanting to copy what they do.
Toddlers just love pretending to be grown ups, even if we think it’s pretty dull!
So give them some simple housework to keep busy with. Sweep, dusting and tidying up toys are all things a toddler can manage to do.
14. Dress up
Lay out some costumes or even some of your own clothes for your toddler to try on and play make believe!
15. Enjoy an audio book
My kid absolutely adore audio books and it’s such a great way to get toddlers interested in books before they are able to read themselves.
We absolutely love the Yoto Player and Toniebox in our house, both are great for toddlers.
16. Sort the colours game
Challenge your toddler to sort a set of toys into colours.
Or you could get several different coloured trays and ask your toddler to fill each one with toys of that colour. This is a great treasure hunt style activity that can keep them busy for ages.
17. Wrap all their toys
One of the most fun things about a birthday is ripping open the paper.
So wrap up their toys and challenge them to unwrap everything.
They will love the process of doing this and then playing with all of the gift wrap!
18. Sticker art books
Simple sticker art books are fantastic for keeping toddlers busy. They’re my go-to for when we go to a restaurant, but also are really great for quiet play at home.
19. Ice toy excavation
Gather some of your toddler’s favourite small toy. Little Duplo Lego figures are ideal for this kind of thing.
Then place them in ice cube trays, cover with water and then freeze overnight.
Once they are frozen, tip out the ice cubes and place them in a play tray. Challenge your toddler to extract the toys from the ice. Give them some simple, blunt tools to chisel away at the ice – a plastic play dough knife works well for this.
20. Potato printing
Simple potato printing is a great way to inject extra fun into painting!
You can cut the potatoes into different shapes and sizes, then challenge your toddler to make pretty patterns and creative pictures using just the potato stamps.
21. Balloon play
Balloons are such a great way to keep little kids busy. I always have a pack of balloons as an emergency “we’re bored” activity.
Blow up a few balloons and let your toddler play! They do not have to have helium for there to be fun, although the floating balloons do add an element of fun to the games.
22. Tape rescue with toys
Get a tray – the bigger the better – and use pieces of masking tape to stick action figures and small animal toys to it.
Now challenge your toddler to rescue every toy! The more toys you use in this game, the longer it will take them to remove all of the tape.
23. Treasure hunt
Hide 10 to 15 of their toys around the house and challenge them to find every single one.
This fun activity is something you can repeat several times! It takes a while to become boring.
24. Bath play
They don’t need water to have fun! Get some bath markers – these are wipe clean – and let them decorate the inside of the bathtub!
Outdoor activities
These are some fun activities toddlers will love to do in your garden! Perfect for warmer days to keep them busy while you do chores outside or simply relax.
25. Water the plants and flowers
Children love to do grown up activities and chores, plus they love messing about with water.
So fill up a watering can and challenge them to water all of the flowers and plants in the garden. Even just watering the grass will be fun to them.
26. Make a potion
Potion making is one of my children’s favourite things to do outdoors.
Give them a jar, bucket or container. Next send them out to the garden to collect things to add to their potion. This may include leaves, petals, twigs and pebbles.
Once they had added these to their potion jar you can top it up with water and they can give it a stir.
27. Ice painting
This is a perfect activity to do on a hot day. Freeze kid-safe paint in an ice cube tray overnight, adding some lollipop sticks into each cube before putting in the freezer. Just rest the sticks inside each cube segment.
Once frozen pop out the frozen paint and put in a play tray outside in the garden. Give your kids some card and paper to create pictures by using the frozen ice. As it melts it will create pretty pictures.
28. Mini beast hunt
Give your toddler a bucket and send them on a mini beast (bug) hunt. Provide them with a small plastic cup they can use to pick up any mini beasts that they find gently.
See how many they can find!
29. Sand and/or water tray play
A large play tray filled with sand and/or water is always enough to keep my two busy for a good hour. You could use a paddling pool for this.
Remember to supervise them at all times.
30. Create a washing station
Tell your child it’s time to wash all of their toys! Get a bucket or tray of soapy water and line up some plastic toys – such as Duplo figures or toy cars – for them to wash.
31. Ice play
Get a play tray or bucket of ice cubes and add some toys to it, hidden among the ice.
Let your toddler play with it, they can create fun games and cool scenarios in the ice with their toys.
32. Washable sidewalk chalk art
A box of chunky sidewalk chalk is the perfect creative activity for little ones outside.
They can use them to drawer on your patio or sidewalk outside your home – it all washes off in the rain or with a bucket of water.
My two love to drawer rainbows with their chalk.
