20 Boredom Busting Low Prep Toddler Activities You Gotta Try At Home

My child has gone from being a calm, always-sleeping baby to a little whirlwind causing chaos throughout the house.

If I don’t keep her occupied with activities, she channels her energy into dragging dining chairs to climb onto the kitchen counter, emptying every drawer, constantly flipping light switches, jumping on the couch, falling off, and then crying. You get the idea.

These are the activities I’ve been doing with my toddler, and they’ve actually given me plenty of extra time for bathroom breaks, cooking, cleaning, eating peacefully, and blogging.

They don’t require any time or effort to set up and utilize items you already have lying around!

20 Enjoyable Activities for Toddlers Using Household Items

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Remember, toddlers can be captivated and entertained by the simplest objects and activities. There’s no need to get fancy or spend a lot of money on expensive toys.

Collander Play

This is a great way to develop fine motor skills. Simply hand your child a collan der and some pipe cleaners. Demonstrate how to poke the pipe cleaners through the holes of the collander. This activity keeps my little one busy for at least 10-15 minutes!

Paint With Water On Cardboard

This is a highly enjoyable and cost-effective activity for your child.

All you need is a piece of cardboard, a dish of water, and a paintbrus h.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor play, this toddler activity is easy to clean up and can be repeated multiple times. Simply allow the cardboard to dry between sessions.

Alternatively, you can hand your toddler an old cardboard box and some crayola markers and let them scribble away. So much fun for kids and a great activity to keep them busy!

Color Sorting Pom Poms

Here’s what you need for this activity: some pom poms and a divided plate (you can grab a veggie and dip tray off Ama zon if you don’t have one already). This activity helps little ones learn their colors in a fun and interactive way!

If you don’t have pom poms you can use any other small objects such as paper clips, clothespins etc

Match Objects To Drawing

This at-home toddler activity is highly engaging! Just gather some flat household objects and toys, and trace around them. Your toddler can then go around matching the objects to their drawings.

Card Slot Pop

This one is so easy to set up! All you need are some playing cards and any old box/container. Simply make a slit in this container and watch as your toddler spends ages popping the cards into the slit!

Tape Rescue

This is a fun activity for kids of many ages. All you need is some c olored masking tape and your child’s favorite little animals. Grab a cookie shee t or any other flat surface where you can tape down the little animals.

Then tell your child they have to rescue their animals by getting the tape off of them. This is a great activity to help develop fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and problem solving skills.

Blocks Wash

This is a great sensory activity thats super simple to set up either indoors or outdoors.

Simple fill a large shallow sensory bin with some water, blocks/duplo, some little scrubbing brushes like these and a squirt of baby wash to get some bubbles in the water.

Kids love grabbing the little scrubber, swirling it around in the water and scrubbing the blocks with it!

Toilet Roll Bowling

Don’t throw away those empty toilet rolls! Instead, take 5-6 empty toilet rolls and place them on the floor in two lines.

Then give your child a plastic ball and let them have a blast bowling and knocking down the toilet rolls! You can even cover the toilet rolls with colorful paper to make the activity more exciting and throw in an interesting sensory ball!

Busy Book

Tired of depending on screen time to keep your child busy? Replace screen time with a Busy Book!

A Busy Book (as the name suggests) is designed to keep your toddler busy. Not just that, but it contains activities that also teach your toddler fundamental skills (like matching, sorting, counting, tracing, phonics activities etc) that lay the foundation for future learning.

The Sweet n Sour Busy Book is an insanely cute Toddler Busy Book (if we do say so ourselves!). Featuring bright and unique illustrations, each page has been crafted to perfection.

Designed to keep toddlers busy, engaged, learning and out of trouble, this little printable bundle is a life saver for toddler parents. Take it along during travel, in the car, at the restaurant or anywhere you’d prefer to replace screen time with something that actually benefits your child.

Check out the Sweet n Sour Busy Book (we promise you won’t be disappointed!).

Stacking Cups

Got some plastic cups lying around? Let your child use them to stack. It’s so simple but for a toddler this can be a very entertaining activity!

You can also get these cheap stacking cups on Amazon which are a huge hit with kids.

Play Dough Fun

Play doug h is one of the most versatile things you can have on hand for keeping toddlers busy. You can let them use cookie cutters to make shapes or letters.

Another idea is to let them use their little toys in the play dough. They can create a home for their little toys or foot prints of their animals in the play dough.

Sensory Bins

Fill a sensory bin with rice, beans, or pasta. Add spoons, cups, and small toys for your toddler to explore different textures and practice scooping and pouring.

Toy Washing Station

Fill a basin with soapy water and give your child some of their plastic toys to wash. They’ll love the sensory experience and the chance to play with water.

DIY Puzzles

Cut a picture from a magazine or a printed photo into large pieces to create a simple puzzle. Your toddler will enjoy putting the pieces back together.

Obstacle Course

Create a simple obstacle course using pillows, chairs, and blankets. Encourage your toddler to crawl under tables, jump over cushions, and navigate around obstacles.

We have a folding mattress like this one and it’s not only great to use as extra bedding but also as a way for the kids to create forts and obstacles.

Matching Game

Gather pairs of household items (like socks, spoons, or lids) and mix them up. Challenge your toddler to find the matching pairs.

Cardboard Box Playhouse

Transform a large cardboard box into a playhouse or a car. Let your toddler decorate it with crayons or stickers.

Nature Collage

Collect leaves, flowers, and small sticks from your yard. Use glue to help your toddler create a nature collage on a piece of paper.

Bubble Wrap Stomp

Lay out a sheet of bubble wrap and let your toddler have fun stomping on it to pop the bubbles. It’s a great way to burn off energy!

Coloring

Toddlers never tire of coloring! Give them some coloring sheets and some crayons and you’ll get at least 10 minutes of quiet time in the house.

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Laundry Basket Boat

Turn a laundry basket into a boat. Give your child a spoon or spatula to use as a paddle and let them pretend to row across the sea.

I hope you liked these 20 easy activities that you can do with your toddler. You only need items you likely already have at home. Give these a try and see how they keep your little one busy and engaged!

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