The hardest part about being a parent of two so far has been entertaining my toddler, Raylee, while I tend to the baby. When I need to breastfeed Ruthi or put her down for a nap, basically all of my attention needs to go to the baby. That means that Raylee needs to keep herself busy, but she’s a toddler so that doesn’t come easily. I have been compiling a list of the toys and activities we use to keep our toddler busy. We use these as tools to help her entertain herself so I can focus on the baby when needed. Even if you just have one kid, sometimes mama needs time to check email or make dinner without a toddler “helping.” So if that’s you, check out this list to help keep your toddler busy.
Toys & Activities to Keep Your Toddler Busy
I can’t find the exact one Raylee owns on Amazon, but this set it similar and even better because it comes with two instead of one. We actually keep a small one in the car for road trips and have a bigger one in the house — so this set would be perfect to do the same. Raylee is 2.5 years old and she’s beginning to get more and more into drawing and coloring. When I am nursing Ruthi, this is a great toy because Raylee can sit right next to me (so she doesn’t feel attention deprived) and I can name different objects or even people for her to draw.
I got this for Raylee as a prize for potty training. She loved it right away and played with it every single day for the first week. She still gets it out to play often. I showed her how to play with it the first day we got it, and she entertains herself with it now. This set comes with 60 colorful bears and six matching color cups. It also includes a set of tongs and a die. This toy has endless play possibilities. Right now, we are using it to sort colors but there are tons of activity options for this one. I highly recommend this toy.
I’ve got to thank Melissa and Doug, whoever they are, for these babies! I found one of these on sale one time and snatched it up, knowing it was a great find. Now, I whip it out on days where I need more time to get Ruthi down for her nap and cannot handle having Raylee in the room singing “Let It Go” at the top of her lungs! We have the Dress Up sticker book, and I just get it out and let Raylee go to town. She will sit quietly and play with it while I do whatever needs done. They have so many different themes, and I love that it’s reusable so that means she can play with this over and over and over. Another thing I love about these is she can get the stickers off herself! She often needs me to help peel off stickers on regular sticker books, but these seem easier to get on and off.
Here’s another activity that can be used over and over. These books come with a little pen that you fill with water. Kids can use that pen to color these books. The best part about them is after it drys completely it fades off, so it can be used again. This is another activity from Melissa & Doug that has a ton of different themed books. These books are great for traveling too! We keep one or two in the car, along with a water bottle in case I need to fill the pens.
I know none of us want to resort to screen time, but this doesn’t really count since it’s more of an activity … right? This Youtube channel has yoga for kids. Jaime, the yoga instructor, tells stories as she walks you through the yoga positions. There’s lots of easy movements to get kids active. Raylee really enjoys these videos.
This is the only one on the list that we don’t own, but I have heard so many amazing things about this toy that I wanted to include it. So many friends have said this toy keeps their kids entertained for so long. It’s open-ended so great for those imaginations. They can build all kinds of things with these tiles that hook together through magnets.
I try not to use screen time unless I really have to, but on those occasions where I am in desperate need of keeping my toddler entertained I hand her my phone and let her play with this app. I first heard about Starfall ABCs from Busy Toddler, and I love everything Susie recommends so I downloaded it immediately. Ever since then, this is my go-to app for keeping Raylee busy. It is educational and has tons and tons of things to do. It helps her learn letters, letter sounds, colors, shapes, patterns, counting, matching — the list goes on and on. She does not get bored with this app. And the very best part is there are no pop up ads!
This toy comes with scenes on wooden boards that are double-sided. Kids can use the colored shapes to fill in the scenes. My girl loves naming the shapes and showing me which ones go where. Since the boards are double-sided, there are lots of possibilities to keep your toddler busy. I love really simple toys like this.
Raylee got this for her second birthday and she’s played with it many times since then. At first, she just loved figuring out what pieces went where. Now, at 2.5 years old, she does even more with this toy. She likes to make pictures out of them like building a house with the squares and triangles.
This toy includes a little set up. You will have to fill it with water, and I suggest putting it down on a large towel or something. There’s bound to be a bit of a mess, but it’s only water. Raylee loves playing with this toy. She loves playing with water in general, so this is perfect. She gets to wash the dishes in the sink. What I love about this toy is that it doesn’t necessarily need water to play with it. My toddler played with it for a long time before we ever introduced actual water inside it. She just loved pretending and having her own sink. The water really does run out of the faucet so its endless fun until the batteries die basically.
Stack of Books
OK, this one is so simple, but it’s something that has worked for us many times. I grab a stack of books — ones from our shelves or maybe ones we got from the library — and I pile them up on the bed. Raylee can sit right next to me while I feed the baby, so she’s still getting some attention. She gets to pick a book and look through it. If she wants, I will read it to her as long as she turns the pages for me. We will often read the same book over and over, but hey, it keeps my toddler busy! Some of her favorite books are these interactive recipe books or the Little People lift the flap books.
LeapFrog Scribble and Write Tablet
Raylee loves this toy, and I can’t believe how quickly she has learned how to use it. This tablet helps toddlers learn their numbers and letters, how to write them, and what sounds each letter makes. It also helps them learn how to hold a pen/pencil and follow directions. This toy also comes with a a level one and level two, so it grows with kids as they learn.
Those are the toys and activities we’ve been using to keep our toddler busy while traveling or cooking dinner or feeding the baby. They have all been so helpful! What do you use to keep your toddler busy? Hopefully this gives you some new ideas for Christmas! Speaking of, you might also want to check out my 20 Toddler Gift Ideas post.