Top 10 Things To Do Indoors For Under 2's!
It looks like we all might be spending a lot more time indoors for the foreseeable future and while that sounds absolutely fine to me, my 14 month old may not be quite so easily pleased!
With that in mind, here is my top 10 list of “Things to do With Under 2’s!”
1. Sensory Bottles
Sensory Bottles are easy to make and there’s a huge variety of ways to make them! Got some spare rice? Add it to a bottle and you’ve got a shaker! Shampoo and water? You’ve got a foamy tornado! Have a look on Pinterest for more ideas or go wild and come up with your own!
2. Shaving Foam/Soapy Foam
This ones a classic, find an area you don’t mind making a mess of, squirt out some foam and let them have fun! Shaving foam works fine, but the best stuff I’ve found is Bathtime Buddies- Soapy Foam. Last I checked you can get it in Sainsburys and it’s well worth it!
3. Food Play
As the old adage goes, “Food for fun until they’re one!” So if you’re at home with a 6-12 month old having some food play is the perfect time to get them exploring different textures, tastes and smells! No agenda, just simple play.
4. Painting
Another messy one... I like to put splodges of paint on the paper and let them smear it around from there. Having a good range of colours allows them to explore the colours mixing and changing as they go!
5. Bath Fun
After all this messy play, a good bath is probably in order. Who says baths should just be at bedtime? Split up your day with a bit of water play in the bath!
6. Stories
It’s never too early to start reading to your kids, and while bedtime can be reserved for nice calming books, during the day you can mix things up with some feely/lift the flap books, or get far too involved in doing all the different voices!
7. Songs and Rhymes
Like stories, singing is a great way to entertain your kids, and the best bit is, they don’t care how good a singer you are! Include plenty of actions if they aren't at the stage for singing along yet and if you’re struggling to think of songs make sure to check out the Bookbug App! They have loads of songs on there with lyrics for each one and you might even find a couple of songs recorded by Dads Rock on there!
8. Treasure Baskets
Treasure Baskets are a fairly simple idea. Find a bunch of everyday, but interesting, items around your house, stick them in a basket and let your child explore them. Wooden spoons, brushes and sponges all work well (my wee girls favourite thing is the honey dipper!) and a good collection will engage all 5 baby senses!
9. Making Music
You might have some toy drums and shakers kicking about the house, if not you can easily make your own! Grab a pan and a wooden spoon and you’re all set to rock out with your wee one! Kids love creating and exploring noises so find some objects that can make different sounds and you’ll have yourself a full drum kit in no time!
10. Shredded Paper
Do you get a lot of junk mail? Don’t know what to do with all those old receipts? Buy a shredder! Oddly enough this is the messiest one on the list, you’ll be finding strands of paper around the room for weeks. But it is a lot of fun and my wee one absolutely loves wading around in it!
So that’s my top 10 list, it would be great to hear from you on activities your child likes to do indoors!
Make sure to check out Thomas’s List for activities for preschool children and keep an eye out for more activities in the coming weeks!