Best Indoor Activities for Toddlers
Are you in need of some indoor activities for your toddler? Is it raining, snowing, too cold, too hot, (if you live in Ohio like my family, any of those things could happen in a span of a week), or anything else keeping you from going outside and enjoying the outdoors? Those days can be hard. You can feel cooped up inside. Like there is nothing to do. But you do not have to feel that way!
Here are 20 indoor activities for your toddlers to do and enjoy. Take the stress off yourself of coming up with fun things to do indoors and use the ideas given here.
Indoor Activities for Toddlers
1. Wall Tubes
All you need is toilet paper tubes (and let’s face it we all have those), painter’s tape, some pom poms (or something else you have lying around your home), and a plastic cup. Tape the tubes on the walls in a fun way to have the pom poms fall down the wall. Your child/children will have a ball dropping the pom poms and watching them fall into the cup over and over again.
2. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
This game is quite simple and one of my kids’ favorites. It is literally just a race across your home. Line them up and yell “On your mark, get set, go!” and watch them run. It is a simple game that runs out their energy and takes minimal effort from you. A win, win.
3. Put a Rain Jacket and Rain Boots on and Play Outside
Remember your child is only little for a short time, let them get wet and dirty every once in a while. You can wash their clothes and bath them later. Your child/children do not care that your hair is frizzy. Go have fun!
4. Painters Tape Race Car Road
This activity is very simple but creates hours of fun at my house. All you need is painter’s tape and a Sharpie to draw the road lines. From there get creative and make some roads on your floor for your child to have fun.
5. Color Scavenger Hunt
All you need for this activity is your voice and what you already have. The game is for you to yell out a color and your child/children have to find something around the room that is the color you said. It is a simple game but also has your child/children practicing their colors.
6. Kinetic Sand
Kinetic Sand might not be something you have on hand all the time but if you do it is the perfect thing to pull out on a rainy day. It could potentially cause a mess although it does provide some great and fun entertainment.
7. Color Sorter Muffin Tin
The color sort game is a game to help teach and have your child/children practice their colors. All you need is a muffin tin and different colored items. I normally use different colored pom poms and squeeze pouch tops. Mix up all the different colored items and have your child/children sort out the different colors in each muffin tin spot.
8. Sensory Bin
An activity to do on a day you can not go outside to play is to make a sensory bin for your child to play with. One example of a sensory bin you can make from items you probably already have at some is of course a plastic bin, rice, pasta noodles, pom poms, and anything else you think your child will like running his or her hands threw.
9. Balloon
The games a child can develop with just one balloon are incredible! Keepy Uppy (For you Bluey Fans), a fun soccer balloon version, Volley balloon, and whatever their little minds can come up with. Let their creativity flow!
10. Car Ramp out of Box
This a pretty simple idea that you can put to use one of the Amazon boxes or diaper boxes you have lying around. Cut a box open and prop it on something like your couch or chair and your child/ children can use it as a toy car ramp. Watch them have fun watching their cars fall down their new ramp!
11. Free Play
I truly believe that independent free play is very important for a child to learn. Use this time on your rainy day for your child/children to practice independent playtime. Let them have to time spark their creativity, use all the toys they have, look at pictures in their books, pretend to be a dog or cat (one of my children’s favorite things to do at the moment), or whatever else they come up with. Children have such amazing minds, watch to see what their imaginations create.
12. Go to the Library
Going to the library requires you to leave your house, but it is a free option for you to do. Take the opportunity on your rainy day (or snowy day) to go spend time at your local library. Teach your child the joy of going and picking out new books for you to take home and borrow. Most libraries have games and toys to play with to take advantage of as well. The library can be a wonderful activity to do on a rainy day.
13. Tonie/ Yoto
Have you ever heard of a Tonie or a Yoto? If not you need to look it up! I will link the Tonie website here and the Yoto website here. They are like a screen-free iPod. They let your child pick stories or songs on their own, which gives them independence and fun. The Tonie uses little figures to place on top for it to play audio and the Yoto uses cards you insert into the top for it to it’s play audio. This sweet little object will give your little ones tons of entertainment. We happen to have both and love both, but you only need one of them to have fun!
14. Dance Party
urn on some music and have some fun! Play something you know your child loves or turn on a mix on Spotify or a radio station on Apple Music. My children also seem to love The Laurie Berker Band. Dance around your living room and have some fun. Once again your child is only little once, so make some memories!
15. Audio Book
Turn on an audiobook for your child or children to listen to. You can use your Tonie or Yoto like mentioned before for this if you have one, or you can go about it another way. You can use Audible for this or for free you can use Libby which you can connect your local library card to and borrow audiobooks right from your phone. Any way you choose to go about getting an audio book your child will have fun listening to a story.
16. Paint in Baggie
Paint in a Baggie is another simple idea that gives tons of entertainment. All you need is a gallon-sized zip lock bag, washable kids’ paint, and painter’s tape. As shown in the picture above squeeze out a small amount of 4 to 5 different color paint in separate circles, carefully zip up the bag, and use the painter’s tape to tape it on a window or glass door. Your child can now do a clean version of finger painting. (This is a top favorite at my house.)
17. Coloring
Coloring is not something I need to explain to you. Grab some crayons and paper and let your child be creative. One of our favorite forms of coloring is Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free markers and paper. It is an easy way to let your child have fun coloring with markers without you having a mess to clean up at the end.
18. Road Paint
I have to be honest with you here this indoor activity is going to make a mess, but it is a fun mess. You need some trucks or cars you do not mind getting dirty and can be washed, paper plated, paper, and washable kid’s paint ( I also use a trash bag at the bottom to help contain the mess.) Squeeze out some paint on a paper plate, cover the truck or car’s wheels in the paint, and let your child run the truck or car over a piece of paper. As you see it will make road marks all over the paper where they run the car. This is such an exciting activity that your child will keep asking to do it even if it is nice outside.
19. Playdoh
Playdoh is another activity that needs no explanation. Set your child or children at the table and let them have fun playing with Play-Doh.
20. Movie and Snacks
This is your permission to put aside your mom guilt and let your child or children watch a movie. Make it a whole thing. Find snacks, make a picnic on the floor, maybe even dim the lights, and choose a movie for you all to enjoy. Put your mom guilt away and enjoy watching a movie with your child. (My son’s current favorite is Toy Story, which is so fun sharing a movie staple from my own childhood with him.)
Go Enjoy the Indoor Activities for Toddlers!
These are my 20 best indoor activities for toddlers that I have been doing for years to help keep them entertained. There will always be days when we can not go outside for one reason or another, so we all need to have indoor activity ideas in our back pockets. Hopefully, this will help you!
If you have any other indoor activities for toddlers that you do that work, please let me know in the comments below!
If you do any of the activities and your child loves it, please also let me know in the comments below!
