Indoor Activities for Toddlers at Home

Due to the COVID- 19 outbreak there is a lot of uncertainty right now. Many schools, preschools and child care centers have closed. There are restrictions on playgrounds and how close you can be to others in the community. We need ideas on what indoor activities to do with our toddlers.

As we are practicing social distancing and staying at home with our toddlers I really want to help. I have put together a post that will give you some ideas on how you can entertain your toddler while at home.

As a general rule movement is super important and should be an essential part of your toddler’s day. Movement helps your child strengthen their body and organize and calm their brain. Being indoors can be challenging to provide the same movement opportunities as if you were able to play outside. However, I put together a list that can hopefully help your kids get the needed movement.

As we are unsure how long and how much we will be staying indoors we want to keep our kids as calm and organized as much as possible. Happy & calm kids = happy & calm parents… right?

So here it is…

Indoor Activity Ideas for Toddlers

Bubbles

There are lots of fun ways to play bubbles indoors. Check out my recent post for ideas “Developmental Benefits of playing with Bubbles”.

Obstacle course

Use what you have at home. Couch pillows, chairs, tables, tunnels, sheets, mattress. Any of these can be used to create some kind of an obstacle course.

Involve your kids in making them. You might be surprised what wonderful ideas they might have.

What movements to incorporate:

• Crawling
• Walking or crawling on uneven surfaces such as couch pillows
• Going under things such as chairs or tables
• Moving over things such as chairs, couch or a bed
• Jumping

Have a purpose:

The obstacle course can be much more fun if there is a reason why your toddler is doing it. Some reasons can include:

• Being chased by a sibling or parent
• At the end of the obstacle course they have to throw a ball into a target such as a laundry basket
• They need to crawl up a mattress to get a toy they wanted

Afterwards include them in clean up. Make it a game or a race to make it fun and motivating.

It’s not just the BOX

Before you recycle those boxes have a little fun with your kids. Depending on the size of your box you can try following ideas:

• Build a tower
• Knock down the tower by using a ball (target throwing) or have your child roll on the floor and knock it down
• Build robots, cars, boats, houses out of them
• If the box is large enough they can get inside and decorate with stickers and crayons

Balloons

There are so many fun ways that your toddler can play with balloons.

Some ideas include:

• Walking around and trying to kick it forward
• Throw the balloon to your toddler and see if they can catch it or bounce it
• Have them practice throwing it up into the air
• Tie a string to it then attach it to the ceiling. Give them a paper roll or a cut noodle and have them hit it

Dance Parties

Turn on their favorite tunes and have a dance party. Maybe close the blinds and give them some glow sticks.

Fun with Tape

Washi Tapes are so versatile. There is an abundance of things you can do with them. Here are some ideas. Many can also be incorporated into an obstacle course.

• Create a balance beam by sticking a line on the floor (straight or zig zag)
• Make shapes that can be used to jump in and out of
• Make roads for cars

Ball Play

Catching, throwing, rolling, target throwing, knocking things over… anything goes.

Dress Up

Boys and girls love exploring different worlds. Explore these worlds with them. You can play dress up and create the world to fit their theme.

What worlds would your child like to explore?

• Land of dinosaurs
• Pirates
• Frozen
• Jungle
• Being a Fireman or a Policeman
• Super heros adventure
• Princesses in a magical land

Building

Blocks are fabulous.

• You can stack them up and then knock them down.
• Together with your toddler you can build houses or obstacles for cars.
• You can even build cars.
• Try building a long wall from them and then either step or jump over it.

The only limitation is your imagination so have fun with it.

Follow your child’s lead

Ask your child what they want to play. Be present and have uninterrupted play time with them each day. Just 20-30min can make a huge difference.

For many more indoor activity ideas for your toddlers make sure you check out the Toddler section and the Recipe section of my blog.

Stay Healthy and Have Fun!

~ Urszula