What to do with a toddler on a rainy day

Last week we saw some pretty horrible rain in the south. So much rain that our kitchen roof started leaking! AGH! Daddy Lamb was not happy….

This post is a request from a close friend of mine who has a 17 month old and struggles to know what to do with him when they are stuck indoors.

Here are my tips on what to do with a toddler on a rainy day.

1. Painting. We have a selection of paints in our house for Lamb to use, and lots of other supplies. This is such an easy activity and needs minimal materials. Paper, paint, brushes. No paper? Then cut up an old cereal box or recycle old letters or junk mail! Seriously, theses kids really don’t mind what they paint on. Also, you don’t always need brushes. Old sponges or even their hands and feet will do!

2. Jigsaws. Lamb absolutely loves jigsaws. He has a farmyard floor puzzle I got for his 2nd birthday and he will sit and play with it for hours. I highly recommend having a selection of jigsaws in the house. This is something you can enjoy too!

3. Dancing. This may sound a bit cringe, but Lamb loves dancing (only at home though, he won’t do it in big groups). Put on some upbeat music and have a little boogie! This will use up a good 20 mins of the day, and is the perfect activity to do before nap time to burn off some energy! You might even burn some calories yourself! 😉

4. Educational iPad apps. Not everyone will agree with letting their kids use iPads, but I allow Lamb to use mine if he is doing something educational. The cBeebies app is really good for keeping them entertained for an hour, as well as being educational and teaching them shapes and colours. My top tip is to ask your little one what they are doing or what they can see all the time. Lamb knows loads of words because I constantly ask him what things are. iPads are also good for hand to eye coordination.

5. Aquadoodle. If you don’t own an Aquadoodle, then get one. Lamb doesn’t use his all the time, but it’s amazing if you need to leave them to play by  themselves for a bit, and you don’t have to worry about them colouring in the walls or carpet! Just keep refilling the doodle pen and you’ll give them unlimited hours of doodling fun! You can get different versions, and even a travel one to take out with you.

6. Flash Cards. Whenever we have a lazy day I’ll always get out Lambs flash cards. There are a few ways you can making learning with flash cards fun. Simply show them and ask if they know the word/picture. Lay them all out of the floor and say “can you find me the apple?” Or turn them upside down and ask them to pick one, if they know it they keep it, if they don’t put it back down and let them try again. You’ll be surprised how quickly they remember the new words!

7. Stamping/Printing. This is lots of fun if your little one likes mark making. You can use absolutely anything to create pictures using stamping or printing. The bottom of fizzy drinks bottles, the wheels on a toy car, cookie cutters or even toilet rolls tubes. Anything can make a mark on a piece of paper. Why not look around the house and collects some bits to do some stamping. Or even get out into the garden and pick up some old leaves and twigs and and create textured printing. Lamb also likes using his dinosaur stamping set from Melissa & Doug.

8. Baking. Lamb loves watching me in the kitchen. I love baking, particularly cupcakes, so I like to get him involved as much as I can to turn it into a fun activity for both of us. I put him in his high chair with his apron and chef’s hat and give him his own bowl and spoon to play with. Most of the time he doesn’t even have any ingredients, he just enjoys pretend mixing and banging the spoon on the bottom of the pan! Now Lamb is well into his 2’s I’m going to start letting him do more baking with me, so will be looking at getting his own baking set. He loves feeling like he’s doing ‘grown up’ stuff and always says “Jaxsix do it” when I try to help him. Bless!

9. Arts & Crafts. I know I’ve already said painting, but there’s so many arts & crafts you can do with toddlers I thought I would include some more. Lamb loves glitter, so why not buy some cheap PVA glue and get creative with glitter. Or simply cover a piece of paper with glue and let them go glitter mad! Sometimes arts & crafts can be so much fun with so little effort! Lamb also loves stickers, so you could find some old household items like picture frames, coasters, or even plastic cups and let your toddler decorate with stickers. You could even give these to family members as little keepsakes. If you want any more ideas for arts & crafts you can take a look at my Bostik blogger posts that I do each month.

10. Housework! As I mentioned earlier, Lamb loves thinking he is doing ‘grown up’ stuff. He always wants to wipe his high chair after lunch, help push the hoover around and empty the dishwasher. These mundane tasks can actually be quite fun for the little ones, and also a way of getting the housework done without a terrible toddler pulling on your leg. We bought Lamb his own hoover for his second birthday, as having him hoover with me dragged the process out quite a lot! So we now do it together with our own hoovers! Hanging the washing out is also something Lamb loves to help with. Ok, so this isn’t something you can do on a rainy day, but filing and emptying the washing machine/tumble dryer also seems to amuse him! When I need to tidy my bedroom I’ll sit Lamb on the bed with lots of toys to keep him occupied, put the TV on and crack on with the tidying. Why not have a think of what daily tasks your little ones can help with to keep them happy on a rainy day?

I hope this list of things to do on a rainy day is helpful for you, I’d love to know what you get up to when you’re stuck indoors, I’m always looking for new ideas!

Ax