Anyone who has ever had a toddler (or even been around one) knows toddlers are sometimes hard to please and have short attention spans. Here are 5 sure fire ways to keep them entertained.
- Play-dough. Homemade or store bought, it doesn’t matter. Kids love this stuff. Roll it, squish it, mold it, rip it. Just don’t mix it! And don’t forget to put the lids back on securely so you can play with it again later. No one likes hard, crunchy play-dough… especially a toddler who got really excited when you said “let’s play with play-dough!”
- When the toddler is bored with play-dough, grab some bubbles! Again, kids love bubbles. If you have a bubble machine, that’s even better. Bubble wands are also great and give your cheeks a break. Or let the toddler blow the bubbles himself (check out the no-spill bubble tumblers to make this less risky). Wrestling the bubble wand away from said toddler after giving it to him might be trying, though- so keep that in mind before you hand over the reins!
- When bubbles lose their appeal, find pen/crayons/marker and paper/coloring books and let the toddler go to town! Scribbling is great fun for all kids and helps hone those fine motor skills. Plus it’s a good opportunity to experience different shapes, colors, and more. It’s also a good excuse for you to color again- just don’t get too defensive when the toddler attempts to “help” you color your perfectly executed (and within the lines) masterpiece.
- When scribbling is over, find some paint and a paintbrush, strip the kid down (or apply a smock/head-to-toe body suit) and let the toddler paint something. Preferably paper, but I guess if you have walls that need painting, that would work, too. Either way, just make sure it’s something you don’t mind being painted.
- When painting is done, sing some of your toddlers favorite songs together- wheels on the bus, itsy bitsy spider, ABCs, etc. Just be prepared to sing the same thing repeatedly, as this is a favorite quirk of toddlers. Almost anything is fair game, even new songs your toddler doesn’t know (but keep it clean, especially if your toddler is in the copy-everything-you-say mode).
Congratulations! You have just entertained your toddler for 30 minutes. Annnnnd, repeat! Or lock your door, take a nap (because darn that was exhausting!), and leave the kid to his own devices (which I’m sure will end up being entertaining for said toddler, but probably not in a way you’d prefer). Happy parenting!
