October 12, 2021

Indoor Activities for Toddlers

Children from the ages of 2-7 begin to get more restless, curious and inquisitive. During these times, it is necessary to find fun activities for kids to do to keep them occupied and engaged. However good it is to teach children to stay calm and disciplined, it is difficult for them to be at home without much to do due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their simple minds may not truly understand the severity of the present times so it is best to help them stay preoccupied with activities and fun games that keep them mentally and physically healthy and happy. It is common nowadays to see very young kids gravitate to tablets and phones to look for entertainment. There is no one to blame for this but the growing age of technology. To reduce this occurrence, here are some enjoyable activities that you can do with your kids or they can do on their own.

Tea parties and home plays – We all see young kids play with their tea sets and have little tea parties with their stuffed toys and talk to them as though they are alive and respond to them. This is very helpful for kids to tap into their creative side by envisioning scenarios, creating conversations as well as keeping them occupied for hours. What additionally helps is the tables, cups, a little kitchen set and some stools sto create a home play setup.
Colouring and painting – It is good to allow kids to indulge in some colourful paints, sketch pens, colour pencils, crayons and other colouring tools. Letting them explore colours and painting schemes helps to enrich their playtime and also helps stimulate their imagination and brain. Holding the colouring tools also helps in practicing holding their writing or colouring tools correctly. This will help them strengthen their hand and wrist muscles. All these paintings can be used to decorate the nursery as a way to showcase their creativity.
Playing with jumbo or lego blocks – More than this being a very fun activity to play as a child, playing with jumbo and lego blocks helps children to improve their hand eye coordination. This also helps them increase patience and develop their constructive skills. Kids love to break things so it is also important to teach them to build things and show them the time and effort it takes into building them. This way, you can teach them that it is not a good habit to break things as someone took the time to make it.
Write them a treasure hunt – This is a good activity to make toddlers do as a working or busy woman. Draft a treasure hunt the night before while they are asleep and hide some rewards as you would for any treasure hunt. It is recommended to make it more personal as this plays a big role in the child’s future when they know that their likes and dislikes are recognised. The next morning, give them their clues before you get busy and allow them to solve the hunt. This is a good way to get them thinking and developing exploration and problem solving skills.
Playing with kinetic sand or homemade alternatives – kinetic sand helps in engaging a wide range of sensory experiences in a child. Emotional and social development can be engaged when kids and toddlers play with kinetic sand. With that being said, you would have to be mindful when they play with kinetic sand. Make sure that they do not eat the sand as it can be hazardous since it contains a number of toxic chemicals. A homemade alternative for kinetic sand can be made by mixing 2 parts cornstarch with 1 part of dish soap. This is a relatively more child-safe alternative to play with. This creates a strange yet intriguing substance that is solid when played with vigorously but turns liquidy when left loose.
Baby pools with toys – To beat the summer heat and have a safe semi-indoor activity is to fill up an inflatable baby pool with some water and some toys so that they can have a pool day at home. During COVID-19, with most outdoor activities being closed for safety purposes, it is important to find solutions so that kids and toddlers do not constantly resort to technology when they are bored. In addition to this, playing in water is a fun energy burning semi-indoor or indoor activity for toddlers and children.
Solve puzzles – Learning how to solve puzzles teaches toddlers spatial awareness, colour coordination, shape recognition and concentration. Puzzles subconsciously help growth in children to recognise the importance of a smaller part in the bigger picture. This is a very valuable skill when it comes to analysing and solving problems in the future.
Fort building – Fort building is another activity that is just simply fun. Toddlers learn to tap into their creative and design oriented parts of the mind and come up with structures and use household items to make a comfy nook for themselves to play in. It is amusing to then see how they appreciate sitting in their fort because children tend to appreciate things that they have worked to create and that has not just been handed to them. This helps them avoid becoming entitled and more constructive.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. How do you entertain toddlers indoors?

Ans. It is a task trying to stop even toddlers from reaching out for technology when they need entertainment. However, there are a number of activities that you can try and play with them to help them be more entertained, especially during quarantine because they are not allowed to go out, run around and play. Some of these activities are painting and colouring, treasure hunts, baby pools, puzzle and fort building. It is vital to put in effort into toddlers to avoid them from feeling bored and neglected.

Q2. What are the types of indoor activities for toddlers?

Ans. ‘Simon says’, ‘Would you rather’, scavenger hunts, colouring and painting, puzzle solving and fort building ares all different indoor activities for toddlers to keep them occupied and engaged.

Q3. How do I keep my child entertained for hours?

Ans. Without having the option to go out and take them to places like the park or their friend’s house due to COVID-19 restrictions, it is difficult to keep their restlessness and boredom away. Some activities like painting and colouring, treasure hunts, baby pools, puzzles and fort building are all ways to keep children occupied for hours on end. Remember to include some nap times to take breaks and a fun schedule at home is good to go.

Q4. Where can I take my baby on a rainy day?

Ans. If it were not COVID-19 times, ideal yet underappreciated places to take your child or baby on a rainy day is to a children’s library. You can either read to them or allow them to look at all the colourful illustrations in the books. It is extremely visually appealing and stimulating to them. Another place that you could take them is to an aquarium. This can help spark cognitive development as they explore the environment and studies have shown that aquariums have a calming effect on children.