10 Ways To Keep Your Toddler Occupied While You Get Things Done
It can be difficult to balance work and home life while you are a toddler’s parent. Trying to complete even the simplest tasks can be challenging when you have an energetic little one around. In situations like this, finding ways to keep your baby entertained while you get things done isn’t easy overall. However, with some planning and creativity, there can be plenty of ways to engage and entertain your toddler while you tackle your to-do list.
From creating a sensory bin to planning a dance party, in this article, you can find ten different ideas to keep your little one occupied and give yourself a chance to catch a breath.
So, if you are stressed out and tired of feeling frazzled, read below to find fun and practical ways to help you keep your toddler occupied and get your things done.
1. Set Up a Sensory Bin
Sensory bins can be an excellent way to stimulate your baby’s senses while giving them a fun and safe playhouse to engage with. It’s easy to create a simple sensory bin; you can fill a big bog with items like beans, sand, or rice and add small toys to the box. You can also give your toddler a little scoop or something so he’ll be eager to explore the mysterious box.
2. Make a Busy Board
If you’re having difficulty searching for different synthesis topics for your dissertation paper and want to keep your toddler engaged, a busy board can be your way out. You can create this board with different objects and gadgets that your little one can play with while you write your essay. You can purchase these objects in advance or use the safe items around your home.
3. Create a Craft Station
Creating a craft station can boost your toddler’s imagination and creativity. It allows babies to experiment with various textures, colours, and materials, which can help them develop their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Plus, it can help your child to adapt to new skills like gluing, colouring, or cutting. By creating an area for crafting, you can also help your little one to understand the relevance of organisation and boundaries, which are pretty important skills to have in life.
4. Play Dress-up
Dress-up play is fun to keep your toddler engaged and encourage imaginative play. You can gather some of your accessories, clothing, hats, and theirs, but toddlers love playing with parent clothes more. Let your child play with those things, and they will pretend to be a supermodel, a princess, a superhero, or anything they can think of.
5. Build with Blocks
Building with blocks is not only fun, but it also allows little ones to develop their spatial awareness and motor skills. It’s a classic activity that generations for so many years have enjoyed. This game helps your toddler adapt concepts such as symmetry, cause and effect, and balance.
When you decide to keep your child engaged with building blocks, there are many items to choose from. It can be foam blocks, plastic, or wooden ones. Always remember to choose the blocks that are age-appropriate for your child and easy for them to play with and handle.
6. Have a Dance Party
Having a dance party is also a great and easiest way to keep your toddler occupied. It will help your little one to burn off some energy, and you can also be sleepy afterward, which will help you calmly get your things done. Plus, it’s a funny and entertaining way to bond with your baby.
7. Make a Busy Bag
Making a busy bag is a great way to keep your toddler occupied while you take care of your work. The idea is to have a collection of activities that your child can handle independently without supervision. You can create a busy bag with a small container or bag and fill it with different toys your child can play with. These toys can be colouring books, some stickers, puzzles many love, and play dough.
The art of a busy bag is that you can customise it to suit your baby’s skill levels and interests. For example, if your toddler is keen on colouring books, you can include a few of them in your busy bag and keep her/him engaged without constant supervision.
8. Set Up an Obstacle Course
Setting up an obstacle course is another funny and entertaining way to keep your child occupied while you handle your own tasks. You can use items like chairs, boxes, and pillows to create an obstacle course and let your little one navigate through it.
9. Let Them Help with Chores
Most toddlers love to help parents around the house, so why not let them occupy themselves this way? You can give your toddler easy tasks like putting away their toys and gathering them in one basket or folding their laundry to help them feel useful and keep them occupied.
10. Read Books Together
Reading books with your toddlers is a great way to bond with them while keeping them engaged. You can read along with them for a while and then just listen. You can set up a cozy reading space with some blankets and pillows and spend time with your little one to explore various pages of their favourite books.
Final Words
Overall, keeping your little one engaged while you need to take care of your work can seem like a challenging task. But with a little imagination and planning, it can be easily done. The solution is to find an activity that suits your toddler’s interest and captures their attention as long as possible. It can be making a busy bag or starting a dancing party; you have many options.
But always remember to be flexible and patient, as the first activity you try initially can’t work with your little one. Don’t get upset; try creating another one, and you can find the one that works best for your child. Next time, when you need to get your things done and therefore need to keep your little one engaged, try some of our 10 ways that will keep them occupied.