Toddler Activities for young toddlers can be so hard to find or find ones that don’t make a huge mess, I’ve got you covered. **This post may contain affiliate links. A small commission may be earned.**
For a little background, I have an 18 month old boy and a 3 year old girl! We have been doing these kinds of activities since my son was a newborn and I was determined to limit my daughter’s screen time, but now this year I’ve been trying to find or modify activities that my son can do with us.
The hardest part for me about activities with a young toddler is sometimes the mess and the involvement are so overwhelming for an activity that my toddler doesn’t even want to partake in. This age is so hard because you are concerned for the mess and concerned for what they’re putting in their mouth (literally everything).
These 5 activities are ones I feel like I can always do with my 1 year old and my 3 year old at the same time – which is so helpful. If you’re currently at the stage of feeling overwhelmed by activities, no matter what age – I GET IT. Some days are harder than others too. Sometimes it’ll take a few practice times for your toddler to get it and be occupied. Some days it’s not worth the set up, and thats okay!
If I can give you any advice it’s keep trying. Don’t give up on doing toddler activities because one day was a bad day – we all have those. Check out some other toddler activities and try again another day. You’ll find the activities that work for you guys and find yourself a little break!
1. Mess Free Painting – This can be a fun sensory activity for your little one as well. Place a bunch of paint on a piece of cardboard, canvas, or cardstock and place it inside a large ziplock baggie. Let your little one smoosh the paint all around their canvas until they’ve spread it all around.
2. Pom Poms and Painters Tape – This is as easy as it sounds. Take some blue painters and place it on the wall or table with the sticky side facing out. Let your toddler place the pompoms on the sticky tape. You can also place a bunch of pom poms on the painters tape and let your toddler take them off instead.
I don’t know what it is about this one but it always fascinates my toddlers. For younger toddlers, I find it’s best to use the extra large pom poms to help with the worry of putting them in their mouths.
3. Splat Painting – This one is a play on mess free painting, but instead of smooshing the paint around – you’ll have your toddle SPLAT the cotton balls to make the paint! This can be done with a “hammer” or just with the toddler hitting the cotton balls.
Place a damp cotton ball on top of the a squirt of paint on your canvas, cardboard, or cardstock. Place the canvas into a large ziplock baggie, let your toddler splat the cotton balls to create the splat. This does create some artwork, but really just letting your toddler smash things and keeping them entertained is worth it (without a physical artwork).
4. Ping Pong Rescue – Place a bunch of ping pong balls in a pan or in a muffin tin. Tape them with blue painters tape. Let your little one peel the tape and try to get all the ping pong balls. You can also do this with their favorite toys (like some Little People Toys or Dinosaurs) and a cookie sheet.
I’ve found even just peeling painters tape off surfaces is fun for a young toddler. They love to peel it over and over again!
5. Rock Chalk Painting (or sidewalk) – Crush up sidewalk chalk into a fine powder (this is perfect if you have a bunch of broken pieces of chalk from summer). Mix the chalk powder with some water to create a paint. I love to do this in a muffin tin. Let your toddler paint rocks or the sidewalk with the paint!
Okay, the rock chalk painting can be messy – but I feel like chalk paint is less messy than regular painting and dries much faster!
At the end of the day, I try not to overcomplicate the activities I set up for my toddlers. My goal is to keep them entertained for a little so I can get some work done or enjoy my cup of coffee! I hope these activities are engaging for your one year old like they have been for mine. If you want to check out more toddler activities – I have dozens here! xx Ciara