Best Ways to Keep Your Toddler Occupied

The toddler is a child aged between 1 to 3 years which is the crucial time for him to develop emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Therefore, keeping your kid engaged in any sort of activity will one way or another help him grow and learn to occupy himself with creative activities and enhance his memory as well. Keeping your naughty toddler busy at home is not an easy job, especially if your kid gets distracted very quickly and becomes disinterested in the toys which you give. Some kids spend a lot of time in colouring while some in playing and some enjoy dancing. So, try different and see what interests your kid. However, here is a list of activities to keep your kid engaged.

Fun with the Balloons

Teach your toddler how to blow balloons and show him or her how he could play balloon tennis with it. Your kid will surely enjoy this. Moreover, balloons are safer than the usual tennis balls and they do not damage any objects in your house. Be sure to throw away the balloon shreds when it bursts, as your kid might swallow it which results in choking.

Painting and Colouring

Try keeping your kid occupied by teaching him how to paint. You can try different means like hand painting, vegetable prints etc. As you don’t want your floor to get messy, make sure you first spread a newspaper and give him only two colours. In case your kid is a little messier than the others, you can buy him a pack of nontoxic colours and a colouring book. You can also draw some complicated patterns and tell him to colour it.

Energizing with Water Activities

Your child will definitely love this as almost all the kids enjoy playing with water. Just dissolve a little soap in water and give your kid a bubble blower straw. When he blows the bubbles, make sure he does not swallow any of the water accidentally. You can try another simple way in which you can just fill up a tub with water and put some rubber toys in it and give him a water gun with which he can spray the toys.

Pouring Water in Different Sized Bowls

You might be thinking what kind of activity is this: pouring water? But believe me; this one will really fascinate your kid. First, cover a cookie sheet with two layers of paper towels just to make sure that the water does not spill on the ground. Then pick three to four small bowls and fill them with water in variable quantities and show your kid how to pour the water from bowl to bowl accordingly. Surprisingly kids love to do this. You can also add a little color to the water just to interest your kid.

Sorting and Matching of Beans

Seat your kid in a chair in the kitchen and give him a collection of beans; cowpeas, kidney beans, and chickpeas all mixed together in a bowl. Then give him two more bowls into which he can sort the beans. Your child not only enjoys this but it also helps in improving your kid’s level of concentration.

Being Creative with Playdough

Playdough is an amazing and creative way for keeping your kids busy. Just place it on a wooden board or a cutting board to minimize the mess. Kids can cut, squish, roll the playdough safely and hence can explore their creativity. It also helps in the motor skills development of the child, helping build strength in their hands.

Giving your kids Puzzles to Solve

Hand out a few puzzles to your kid. It can either be bought or made at home by cutting up pictures or drawing that your child (or a sibling) has drawn. Puzzles help in the hand- eye coordination of the kid and their memory as well. Puzzles also help in the cognitive development of the babies as well as are a great pass time and hence, also make a good baby shower gift.

Endeavor of Hunting Objects in Magazines

You can give your child a children’s magazine or any other one for that matter and ask him to search for a particular object say flowers, the sun, fruits, etc. Old toddlers can scavenge through the pages and to locate the items you ask them to find. Younger toddlers, however, can just rip the pages and the purpose of this exercise would be defeated. Therefore, timing the activity according to the child’s growth is important.

Capping the Bottle

Take a few old and used bottles, uncap them and ask your child to cap the bottles with the respective colored and sized cap. It is one of those activities were when your kid realizes that the last cap does not match the remaining bottle, he knows he has to start anew. This helps him correct himself.

Sorting Home-based Objects

Add a bunch of old keys, screws, erasers, bottle caps and all little such objects that are present in your household to a bowl or a box. Ask your kid to sort them according to what you want them to pick. Anything you ask for, your kid can sort it out. The little toddlers might need your supervision with small objects.

Re-arranging Fridge Magnets

This is a simple exercise. Hand your toddler with a basket full of magnetic alphabets, magnetic numbers, and magnetic pom poms to be arranged on the fridge. Ask him to arrange the alphabets in the correct sequence or leave them free to create something beautiful out of their own imagination.

Tapped Race Car Track

Tape the floor in the form of a race car track and throw in a few cars for your toddler to play with. Explain him to stay well within the tracks and this way he can play and learn simultaneously the skill of being precise.
Each child is different and responds to stimuli in his own respective way. It is advisable to supervise your young child at all times, and use your best judgement when choosing activities which are safe and appropriate for your child’s readiness level.