If you are working to a budget, there are things you can do with your toddler to keep them entertained that won’t cost you any money. Here are my top suggestions that they will find just as enjoyable as playing with a toy. So, don’t worry if funds are tight right now or you want to include more creative activities into your child’s routine.
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Hide and seek: Toddlers love to play hide and seek and the great thing about this game is that it can be done indoors or outdoors depending on the weather. When they find you and you are reunited after a brief period of being apart there is nothing lovelier for a parent than seeing the look on their face.
Chasing: Toddlers enjoy being active. They have bundles of energy from the moment they get up to when they go to bed and chasing each other around is a good way to channel this enthusiasm into something productive. Just make sure the area you choose is clear of obstructions as toddlers are clumsy by nature and if there’s something to trip and fall over they will find it! I tend to use our hallway as it’s a clear, straight stretch of space with nothing in it to cause an accident.
Animal shapes: Find an appropriate light, put your hands together, make some shapes and get your toddler to identify each one. It’s simple yet effective, and one you can do before bedtime too.
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Make up stories and poems: If your toddler enjoys a story at bedtime, you can always make up your own. This goes for poems too- if you write it with them during the day, you can get them to illustrate it for you so it’s a joint effort, then read it before they go to sleep. Who needs published writers?!
Cups: If you have some plastic cups lying around the house, group them all together and fill a washing up bowl full of water. You will be surprised at just how long your toddler will spend filling and emptying the cups. If you don’t want to use or don’t have a washing up bowl, just fill one of the cups up and let them pour it into the others one by one. Toddlers are fascinated by water so this will keep them entertained for longer than you would think.
Dancing: Toddlers respond well to music. Babies hear music in the womb so most children have been exposed to a beat from being very young and this continues because of TV shows and toys as they get older. Music is a great way to encourage movement and coordination in the form of dancing so throw on a good tune and bust a few moves with your child like no one is watching!
Walking: If all else fails and the weather is kind, a walk in your local wooded area, on the beach or in the park will give your toddler the chance to explore in nature. Little ones are fascinated with the things they find when they are in the great outdoors like leaves, sticks, acorns and cones. Each one is like a little treasure for them so embrace their curiosity while they have some around simple items found outside.
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