Whether you’re working from home and trying to juggle childcare, or you’re simply stumped and need some new ideas to keep your toddlers entertained and engaged, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ve put together 10 ideas that are bound to put a smile on their faces…
Bake some cakes
Baking can be a fun activity that you can enjoy with your little ones. Not only is it an excuse to get messy and eat some cake, but it teaches your children some great lessons in personal hygiene and safety in the kitchen. Grab some butter, caster sugar, eggs, and flour and bake a delicious sponge cake. You can make the process more enjoyable for your kids by adding some icing sugar and food colouring so they can decorate their cake. We’ve even got some kids recipes for you to experiment with on the Everything’s Rosie website - check them out!
Go for a walk
Why not put on your wellington boots and hit the local park or nature reserve? You can have hours of fun walking around with your children - even more so if you set them the task of finding birds or insects on their travels. Kids Days Out Reviews has put together a nature trail spotters sheet which you can download for free from their website - it includes things like ladybirds, bluebells, twigs, frogs, and rabbits - see how many you can find on your next walk.
Create an ideas box
One fun and inexpensive way to keep the kids entertained is to create an ideas box. They can write down their suggestions for things to do when they’re bored, and put them all in an old tissue box or shoebox. Then, the next time they’re looking for an activity, they can reach into their ideas box and do the first thing they find. You can add your own ideas and tasks to the box when you find them - perhaps we’ll give you some food for thought in this article?
Watch free kids cartoons
Another great way to keep your kids entertained is to find a new cartoon that they can enjoy. At Everything’s Rosie, we offer a series of free cartoons for kids that are designed to encourage learning through play and follow the adventures of a little girl Rosie and her friends - Will, Holly, Big Bear, Oakley the ancient Oak tree and Raggles the blue rabbit. Not only will your little ones have hours of fun exploring Rosie’s world, but they’ll learn as they go, so you can let them watch an episode or two in front of the TV without feeling too guilty.
Go on a scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts can be good fun - they’re free and get everyone moving. Keep it simple by shouting out commands like ‘bring me an item that starts with the letter B’ or ‘find something that we can recycle’. It can be fun, educational, and if you play your cards right, you can get your children to tidy their bedrooms as they go! You can reward their progress by offering a treat for dessert or a visit to their favourite play park - it’s time to start getting creative!
Put on an audiobook
If you’re looking for a way to calm down your children and keep them quiet for 20 minutes or so, an audiobook is a great idea. They can curl up on the sofa with their headphones on and immerse themselves in a whole new world of stories. Better yet, consider a kid's read-along book like the ones we’ve got on the Everything’s Rosie website. They can read and learn as they go, and you can ask them questions about what happened in the story once they’re finished, or ask them to draw one of the characters to get them to tap into their imagination.
Build a fort
All they need is a couple of pillows and a blanket, and your children can have hours of fun building a fort. They can turn the couch or their bed into a secret base where they can play, watch videos, and read books. They can make their fort even better with an air mattress for comfort, some sleeping bags to turn it into an overnight activity, and some battery-powered lights. Other ideas include teddy bear guards and play tunnels to create a ‘hidden escape’.
The show must go on
Finally, devise a talent competition in your living room and have your children prepare their own act. Perhaps they could perform as a ballerina, tell jokes, sing, or play with puppets? The parents or guardians can serve as the judges (bonus points for dressing up as Simon Cowell a la Britain’s Got Talent) and everyone can have some fun. Your children will have fun putting together their acts, choosing their costumes, and rehearsing, and when it all comes together at the end of the day, you’ll spend some quality time with your family. Ideal.
Do you have any other strategies for keeping your children entertained? Let us know on Twitter @RosienFriends and check back to our site soon for more tips, tricks, and pointers.