Toddlers are little explorers and love going from one activity to the next. So the more ideas you have in your back pocket the better. This is a list of tv free activities for toddlers or other screen time but I would be the world’s biggest hypocrite if I said my kids never watched any TV as toddlers.
This list of TV free activities for a toddler is a way to inspire me as much as you to try some of these simple activities before reaching for the remote.
75 TV Free Activities for Toddlers
- Cook – we use play food
with real pots a lot.
- Toss bean bags into laundry baskets.
- Paint with yogurt
- Splash in the sink.
- Pour and scoop some pasta.
- Mix some colors.
- Get dressed in sibling’s clothes.
- Turn up the music and dance
- Cuddle.
- Play with a water table
with water or rice. Pasta in the winter.
- Play with a light table
- Cut a slot in a container lid and drop dried pasta into it.
- Play dress up – use old Halloween costumes, clothes and hats.
- Find out will it sink or float?
- Have a toy car wash.
- Build a block tower.
- Knock it down.
- Write on the walls.
- Go for a walk.
- Blow bubbles.
- Go for a swing.
- Draw on the windows.
- Go into a dark room and play with a flashlight.
- Make a tower out of pantry foods.
- Sing songs.
- Gather your dining chairs and play airplane.
- Help put away the dishes.
- Have a bath just for fun.
- Play store.
- Help with the laundry.
- Visit the pet store and see the fish and hamsters.
- Play mail carrier.
- Run.
- Brush teeth (don’t knock it both my kids loved this)
- Take your baby dolls
for a walk around the house.
- Play trains.
- Make playdough cupcakes, muffins, and cookies.
- Walk the plank.
- Wear them while you (parent) hike.
- Call Grandparents on the phone and chat.
- Wrestle.
- Pretend to be animals and crawl, hop, and pounce on things on the floor.
- Play at the playground.
- Collect rocks on a walk or shells on the beach.
- Go to the library.
- Explore a local garden center.
- Make playdough sculptures with popsicle sticks.
- Make a craft.
- Help with chores.
- Paint with water.
- Look through family photos.
- Hammer golf tees into foam.
- Color the patio.
- Have snack on a chair train (in your kitchen)
- Play ball in the yard.
- Make and play with discovery bottles.
- Play with large magnets on the fridge, cookie sheets or like she is above the washer while mama folded laundry.
- Play with a dollhouse
- Color.
- Touch and Smell the fruits and veggies at the supermarket instead of just grabbing what you need.
- Play Duplo.
- Look for bugs under rocks.
- Rip and cut scrap paper.
- Do a puzzle.
- Go swimming.
- Paint.
- Paint with toy cars.
- Play with instruments (or just a big pot and a few wooden spoons).
- Paint with blocks.
- Water your plants.
- Paint with toy animals.
- Play peek-a-boo.
- Go on a color hunt.
- Take every DVD out of the drawers and put them back in. This is completely child led at our house.
- Follow their play and see where it leads you.
*Note about the photos. They aren’t as high quality as I try for because all of them were taken with my phone while we were playing. Not for a post just regular pictures of what we do most days.
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squirtsdad says
Thanks for this list, its awesome. We’ve already done some of them.
Laina says
I think my favourite is the fourth picture. I love the look on their faces in that one XD
JennyOH says
Thanks for this. I get so discouraged at not having the time, money, or space for a lot of cool activities that I forget that for a two year old, dropping pasta into a slot in a container or playing with a flashlight is totally awesome.
Anna @ The Imagination Tree says
What a FABULOUS go-to list!! A great resource for parents everywhere 🙂
Christine says
Such fun ideas and I love your pictures – you must have had a great time putting all of this together.
Tara says
Awesome, awesome, awesome! Thanks for a wonderful list! Have any thoughts about making it a printable? I could help you with that if you needed.
Kristina says
Love this list. I agree with Tara, a printable would be fabulous. I totally want to post this up on my fridge for me (and my husband and babysitters to see). Love the pictures too.
Cyndy says
I am copying your list! I watch my granddaughter a few times a week and already do some of them, but always can use more ideas! THANKS! Another good one, that maybe you already had, but I didn’t see: Painting with water outside: fences, concrete, toys, etc. My boys (including the daddy of the baby I now watch) would paint the wooden fence in our backyard for long periods of time only to find that they needed to paint it again (thanks to evaporation!) and we played a game where they couldn’t get out of the circle I painted for them until it evaporated. Didn’t take long here in Arizona! 🙂
Cindy says
Hi, I have a three year old grandson. We do many of these activities with him. Ni would like to do more painting with him .. I can’ wait for It to warm up enough for him to paint outside on an easel.
MiaB says
This is a great list 🙂 Sharing on FB & Twitter!!
~MiaB
http://www.mamamiasheart2heart.com
Angela S says
you forgot one idea that was always a favorite activity that my kids loved when they were young–make a fort!! My kids loved reading books, eating a snack, playing with flashlights, or just giggling and being silly together in a homemade fort. Yeah..it’s a mess…but most fun things are 🙂
Naomi Alexander says
Love it. Taking the DVDs out of the box is completely child led at our house too 🙂 putting them back again tends to be a little more parent led though!
admin says
We discovered last time that we put them all back in order ( many days we just throw them back in the drawer) that she’d opened the cases and tried to put a few in the dvd player. She slid the dvds under the player.
Cindy says
Thank you for these ideas
K says
This list is so awesome! In the busyness of the day, it’s so easy to forget about the simple things that bring our little ones joy. Thanks for the reminder! I’m definitely going to be referring back to this list to entertain my little ones.
Keitha says
I love #34 Brush teeth. My son also liked to brush my teeth (actually he covered the lower half of my face) since I brushed his.
admin says
This made me giggle – my kids both loved that too.
Heather @ It's A Long Story says
This is a fantastic list! I’ve got it pinned already and will be using it ALL the time!!
Deanna says
Number 9 and 60 are to cuddle. It makes it twice as nice, I guess. My 4 yr old and I have done many of these in the last couple years.
admin says
How did I miss that? Thank you!! I added a new one for #60
Chrissie at Me and My Munchkin says
What a great list! I am having so much trouble finding things to do with my 21 month old. Especially that don’t cost!
admin says
I know after I put the list together I was reminded of things I have done but just get out of habit of doing so hopefully they help you as much as they have helped me.
Squirrels says
Number 74 is my favourite!!!!
Cassie says
These are fantastic ideas! Thanks!!
Becky says
This gives me an idea for my blog! I want to do at least on of these a day, during the week, to find out what we like best! This will keep us going and give us plenty todo so we don’t get bored at home!
admin says
Love that idea Becky!
Laura says
Great ideas!
How about play with beans and do you exercises. Also, hide and seek and figure painting on rocks is awesome too.
Kathleen says
Great ideas. I love the craft list: categorized and easily referenced! 😉
Oh, and #74 happens all the time at my house. I never thought to make a fun activity out of it though. It’s just annoying haha!
Kristen says
My kids love to have a pillow fight. I mean, mom is giving permission to jump on her bed, and she’s going to join you? Heck ya!
Natashajk says
This is a great list. Thanks for sharing! I’m going to print it out and have it handy for when we’re bored.
Lisa @ Whole Soul Jewelry says
Wonderful tips! My 2 & 3 year old are at home with me during the day while I am working, this list will come in very handy! Thank you for sharing! 😉
Tricia says
So sweet, this is not only a good list but a record of life with your toddlers! I did a lot of these when mine were smaller! Now they are middle sized, so we are doing new fun things, snowboarding, hiking, still miss those little days though!
Sheila Edeliant says
Great list — and the pictures just make it that much better! I just came across this on Pinterest and will certainly be passing it on. It is so easy to forget that some of the simplest things in life are what makes it most enjoyable!
Jen says
These are great! The painting with water one reminded me that my son loves to clean windows (well he mostly loves to use a spray bottle and soak the windows, but I’ve gotten him to wipe them down after 😉 I have to write these down & add Clean Windows to the list! Thanks for this!!
Allison McDonald says
my 3 year old loves this too and has for a while! Great suggestion.
How Wee Learn says
Loving this list. Would be a perfect one to print off and keep right on the fridge for those moments when you need a tiny spark of creativity. Thanks for sharing – I will definitely be adding to our toddler repertoire!
Amber says
I like the new #60. Because every time I go to the grocery store I answer questions about produce as we’re going but never stop and let my daughter explore because of being in such a rush. She is always so curious that I think she will enjoy this. Thank you !
Kelly says
Okay, so…
#17: Build a block tower
#18: Knock it down
Alright. I can’t give overwhelming, gushing compliments simply because of that little section of the list : )
Anyway, what I would really like to see is a list of toddler activities to keep them busy while mom is doing things around the house. Many of these things require your participation and your monitoring or it keeps their attention for all but 2 minutes. Just wondering if anyway knows of some good activities for them to do by themselves.
Allison McDonald says
My toddler would happily build a tower and knock it down over and over and over without my help. You are right though many of these are for parents and kids to do together.
Kim Vij @ The Educators' Spin On It says
Allie was thinking about your fun list today for ideas at home to avoid the TV trap when winter weather keeps you indoors. Thanks for sharing this fun list, shared today!
Linda says
Thanks for these amazing tips. I never thought to fill the kitchen sink with water and let me daughter pretend to wash the dishes. She always wants to help me when I clean. This will really let her feel that she is cleaning with mommy. 🙂
Hannah Newman Evans says
Great list. Pinned, bookmarked and shared for next rainy/teething day
Lynette says
Great list! I love a chair train snack and the toy car wash. I am pinning this for next time we’re (I’m) bored of the normal everyday stuff we do. We usually just make big messes and then take naps! 🙂
H Lovin says
Lovely list, thanks! Two more activities I will do with my toddler grandchild…
1. take a wind up alarm clock and hide it. Then we have to be very quiet as we crawl around listening for the ticking sound. There’s a little surprise behind the clock for whoever finds it first. For a little older children it’s a hoot to do this in the dark and fun at a sleepover.
2. I also save all the sheets of paper that come off the printer which still have blank sides. I fold them in fourths. Right now we tear the paper along the folds but soon will be using scissors. She watches as I run a large, plastic needle to feed yarn into one corner making a large stack of irregular note paper (she’ll be doing this later too). When a stack is 2″ thick or so, she draws on one little sheet that is used as a stack cover. I smile each time I tear out a sheet to write a note or mike a grocery list.
Charis Jackson says
Thanks for the great ideas
Uma says
Thank for the ideas:-)