Sometimes, we need to stay inside. Maybe it’s too hot or cold outside, or your child is or has been a bit sick.
Then what happens..? Screentime. Relaxing, for sure. But also boring and lonely in the long run! And not very healthy either! (And honestly, just staying inside and “relaxing” can drive at least me a bit crazy…)
So here are some ideas for indoor kids’ activities to do together and easily involve parents and siblings! Most activities can be adapted to your child’s age and are easy to set up. I am all for making family life easy and enjoyable!
The activities are in no particular order; more than that, I started with calmer activities and ended with more energetic ones. Have fun!
16 Fun Indoor Activities for Toddlers (and Their Families)
1. Cook, bake and have a picnic
Have a cooking or baking project with your children. Assign each child an easy dish or pastry to make, such as cookies, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fruit salad, or some chocolate pudding. Then, have a picnic on the floor, enjoying whatever they made. Young kids can invite their favorite dolls or loveys to the party.
2. Grab a memory game or a deck of cards
Grab a memory game or a deck of cards and teach your children how to play memory or, with older children, Rummy, Speed, or Slapjack. You can make the card games even more exciting by having a prize for the winner of the game. (IF your kids are old enough to endure that a sibling won…) Learning to play actual games is, of course, something for older children.
If your kids are too young to learn games and you don’t have a memory game at hand, use the deck of cards to practice colors, counting, shapes, or even actually play memory – where a pair can be, e.g., the two red fives, the two black aces, and so on. I would only use some of the 52 cards, though, even if there is a strong likelihood that your preschooler will find the right card pairs and you won’t! 😀
3. Write letters
Write letters (yes, on actual paper with pens, markers, or crayons) to family members and friends. Have your children help you put stamps on the envelopes and put them by the door so you can place them in the mail tomorrow morning.
4. Build a City
Find your building blocks or legos, and let everyone work together to build a city. You can see how big the town can grow or how detailed (depending on the blocks you’re using and the ages of your children).
5. Read together
Curl up with a good book (and maybe some popcorn) to enjoy some snuggles and story time.
6. Build a Fort
Find some old blankets and pillows to build a fort. After lunch, you can invite everyone to have quiet time (or nap time) in the fort you made together.
7. Make and play with Play-Dough together
Making and playing with Play-Doh together is great fun! You can find simple recipes online with basic ingredients you will find in your home. If you have food coloring, split the dough into different parts and create various colored doughs. This is an opportunity to involve your child and mix drops of different colors to make new colors – “Wow, look, when we mixed red and blue colors, we could create purple dough!”
8. Coloring time
Which toddler doesn’t love to color? And the best part is if you love coloring, you can easily grab a box of crayons and snuggle up with your children to enjoy an afternoon of coloring. And remember that coloring can be anything from using coloring templates and pens or crayons to finger paint on blank paper – all depending on what your child enjoys!
9. Paper plate crafts
If you have some paper plates lying around, any type of paper plate crafts are fun for toddlers and kids. Here you’ll find some farm animals to create. Other ideas are ghosts and monsters, flowers, or vehicles. But really – you can do almost anything with some paper plates, crayons or watercolor, glue, and imagination. Work together and create! Then hang them up in strings in a window or as wall art.
10. Blow soap bubbles
I still remember how my son laughed when he had a bubble pop on his nose for the first time. He was the most excited toddler in the world. Blowing bubbles is extra fun in the bathtub, on the shower floor, or even by the kitchen sink, since the bubbles may “survive” landing on the water surface and also on the child’s moist skin.
Blowing bubbles is a great way to entertain your toddler. If you become light-headed from keeping these bubbles constantly blowing, then use a small fan to help blow and push the bubbles out into the room. I found this perfect, as all I needed to do was dip the stick into the bubble mixture and then hold the wand in front of the fan. The fan blew the bubbles out and scattered them around the room. There are, of course, also toys that will do the job for you.
11. Play classic, active games
Use your hallways or another large area to play classic games, such as Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says, or Freeze-Dance.
12. Sing or dance together
Enjoy a karaoke concert or a dance show together. Simply just sing and dance, with out without music. Our kids absolutely LOVED dancing when they were little. Nursery rhymes with moves are perfect. Or put on some fun dance videos and dance together. Or – again- just sing together!
13. Fun with balloons
If you have some balloons in the home, blow them up and don’t let them touch the ground. See who can keep their balloon in the air the longest. Great for practicing counting and concentration. If you take turns or let your kids do it together while you all count together, they can “win” together instead of getting disappointed when someone in the family does better.
14. Pillow fights
Need to release some energy? Have a pillow fight! I usually let my toddlers stand in my bed while I stand on the floor. Then we fight with pillows for a little while. Lots of fun, and I like that they can fall without hurting themselves and that the pillow fight takes place in a small area (the bed).
15. Hide-and-seek
There are so many fun games you can play with your toddler. Hide-and-seek is one of them. To help eliminate a little overwhelm from your toddler, suggest two or three rooms everyone is allowed to hide in. Also, don’t be surprised if your toddler “hides” by standing somewhere covering their eyes. This is actually hilarious and worth a photo as a memory. Young children don’t always grasp that they are still visible despite not seeing anyone else (through covering their eyes.)
16 Indoor obstacle course
Do you have an exceptionally active toddler? Do you feel like they bounce off the walls more times than you can count? Then, they are going to love an indoor obstacle course. This is great for both gross motor skills and balancing – and fun!
I’ll stop here! There are, of course, endless ways to have fun with a toddler indoors. But if you go through this whole list, I am sure you will have some fun days ahead! When it is time to go outside again, you’ll find fun winter activities and beach activities for toddlers here.
Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.
Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.