Keeping Toddlers Entertained

January 3, 2005 3:53 AM

We've read every book, played with water in the sink, re-arranged all of his cars and trains, played hide-and-seek, climbed on the dog, and it's only 9 a.m. What was your favorite indoor activity as a two-year old, or what's keeping your favorite toddler amused these days?
posted by Framer to human relations (13 comments total)

A big cardboard box.
posted by christin at 4:23 AM on January 3, 2005

Other than television, I assume...

We had a blast playing bowling with those cheap plastic bowling sets. We just stacked the pins (you could use blocks, I suppose) and had her crawl/roll and knock 'em down. Sitting behind the pins make great photo opportunities.
posted by icontemplate at 4:46 AM on January 3, 2005

Blocks. Blocks and blocks and blocks. My need to build started from the time I could first put one big block on top of the other.

When they hit four, don't stop giving them Legos until they begin vomitting plastic bricks at regular intervals.
posted by Ryvar at 4:52 AM on January 3, 2005

Without a childhood of legos I think I would be a complete moron. Imagination, engineering, and over-priced collectibles all at the same time!

For a toddler... they do have Duplos! Same idea, less edible.
posted by themadjuggler at 6:46 AM on January 3, 2005

If your toddler doesn't put everything into his mouth, then gak might be fun for him to squish around in his hands. We make it by mixing corn starch, water, and some food coloring. The corn starch makes for easy cleanup, unlike a flour/water mixture.

You could also make some large building blocks out of paper bags and newspaper, if you have those supplies handy. To make one, fill up a paper bag with crumpled newspaper, slip a second paper bag over top, and tape the edges to secure.
posted by hoppytoad at 7:00 AM on January 3, 2005

2nd the Cardboard box.

Making, cooking and decorating Fairy Cakes I've always found to be a winner. Little ones can spend an awful long time arranging the toppings. Also gingerbread men and whatever with a good selection of cookie cutters.

Dressing up box with lots (and lots) of shoes and hats.

Sweeping the floor with a dustpan and brush, this generally only works if they've seen you do it first though.

I'm currently finding that more book reading (even if you have read everything) is working well for my 2.7 year old. But much older books, something you don't instantly think of as childrens but still a good story. I'm sure some Shakespear will do just fine avoiding the swords and sex.

She'll sit quite happily for ages just listening to me reading, the bonus is that when she's had enough she'll find something to do by herself just to escape. She just slips off my knee and runs away to do sweeping :)
posted by ModestyBCatt at 7:14 AM on January 3, 2005

Some things that help keep my 2.5 year old son busy:

Drawing. Or, rather, him telling me what to draw for him. 100% of the time it's a train.

Play-doh. Paints. Stickers.

Stickers.

More stickers.

Visit from grandma or grandpa.

Other kids. Keeping two busy is easier than keeping one busy.

Forts or tents made out of blankets and pillows.

Non-cringe-worthy videos. Thomas the Tank Engine is better than it sounds, quite smart in it's use of words and storytelling, and some are even narrated by George Carlin. How cool is it to have George Carlin help your kid learn to talk? Very cool, that's how cool.
posted by bondcliff at 7:40 AM on January 3, 2005

I know the feeling -- I've been entertaining a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old for two weeks straight. The days are long when you wake up at 6 a.m. and refuse a nap.

In-house activities:

My 2-year-old likes anything with wheels -- choo-choos and cars are a dependable activity, though they get old fast.

Running in the hallway/playing "ball" -- we have a long, wide hallway outside our apartment, and that's a great place to roll a ball, play "red light, green light," or put on "shows."

Playing with big sister's toys or on her bed -- or playing with grown-up shoes in mommy & daddy's closet.

Looking at choo-choos and cars on the computer. Google image search is our friend -- "red car" yielded enough car pics to kill an hour of looking and saying, "Red car!"

TV -- videos like Thomas, Blues Clues, or Dora.

Playing with shaving cream in the bathtub (this is for non-shaving-cream eaters)

Making home-made play-doh, or cooking projects like making bread

Making cookies -- my kids love to make sugar cookies and then paint them with food coloring and a paint brush

Making a tent. Hours of fun. Seriously.


Outside activities:
We live in a city and walk to everything, which also helps pass the time

Going to the library or bookstore -- Barnes & Noble is a hit, though the bookstore with a choo-choo set is even better

Going to the kids' museum, or the dinosaur museum, in town

Going to the kids' store up the street and playing with the choo-choo set, rocking horse, and other stuff they have out

Going to the supermarket -- my 2-yr-old loves "shopping for grapes"

Going to the park nearby and running around

Calling up a friend and begging a playdate -- other kids, and other kids' toys, always provide a time-consuming distraction
posted by mothershock at 8:09 AM on January 3, 2005

Definitely a big cardboard box. Hours of fun.

Also building forts with couch pillows. : )
posted by SisterHavana at 8:58 AM on January 3, 2005

One word:

Boohbah!

This site entertains my 1.5 year old son for at least 15-20 minutes, which for him is an eternity.
posted by internal at 10:03 AM on January 3, 2005

Taking a ride on a bus - my almost-two year old adores the bus and it's a complete novelty to him.

Some days I'll throw his old crib mattress on the living room floor and let him jump off the sofa onto it.

He has some old boarding passes from flights I've taken and he pretends to fly around the house while carrying one. Or I set up a pretend car and he "drives" around the house and checks the engine.

When I'm feeling really tired and uninspired, or he's under the weather, I'll put Singin' in the Rain on the TV. It's his favourite movie with lots of singing and dancing, and a sequence with a motorbike going over a cliff, a car crashing, and a building blowing up that he loves to watch. He's seen it often enough that we'll ask him what happens next and he'll say "Car go CRASH!"

And yes, google's image search is awesome. We search for planes and sharks, generally. He's obsessed with sharks since seeing Finding Nemo.
posted by tracicle at 11:11 AM on January 3, 2005

Boohbah is evil, it discourages actual language skills, which are something a 2 year old needs to be getting ALL THE TIME.

Another fun "gak" thing to make - much more like the real thing sold in stores, too - is to mix elmer's glue and a solution of water and borax. Fun and non-toxic (though rinse all the excess borax off before giving it to a 2 year old).
posted by u.n. owen at 11:25 AM on January 3, 2005

Thanks -- good ideas all around.

My son loves trains as well, and we discovered Matt's Train Videos, where you can download great videos of freight trains. Great for learning about different kinds of train cars, colors, etc.
posted by Framer at 3:58 PM on January 3, 2005