No matter why you’re stuck at home, it’s tough when you’re a parent of a baby or toddler [ or both!!]. If you were a childless adult [ which you aren’t, or you wouldn’t have clicked this headline! ] it’s pretty easy to make a bowl of popcorn, sit down to binge watch some Netflix, and consider it a staycation. But if you’re a parent, you know that you can in for a rough ride, unfortunately.

So…you’re housebound. You didn’t have a chance to grab new library books this week. Your house is already over-run with toys, and still, none of them seem novel or stimulating anymore. You have nothing but the same old, boring, noisy things to entertain your little person while they’re home sick, preschool is closed, or until your weather turns nicer.

Not to worry! Thanks to Calgary developmental psychologist, Dr. Theanna Bischoff, I’ve got 20 - that’s right, TWENTY!! - amazing play ideas that require nothing but what’s already inside your home, plus some adult supervision!

20 Busy Baby [ + Toddler! ] Games

1. Sing Star

“Sing-playing” with kids can seem silly, awkward, or even trivial, but there are unique learning experiences presented by songs and rhymes. You can sing about animals, colours, daily activities [“this is the way we wash our face!…], comparisons [big + small; white + black; up + down], or body parts, just to name a few.

2. Box Bonanza

Rescue some Amazon boxes from your recycle bin and use them as a fort, tunnel, peekaboo/hide + seek game, “race car” ride, or draw on the outside to make a castle, a barn, or a rocket ship!

3. Laundry Love

Let your child be the cutest laundry assistant you’ve ever had! Babies will enjoy using the laundry basket for seated support, and older babies/toddlers can play with different fabric textures [terrycloth, silk, fleece, flannel] and work on motor skills while imitating “folding” or hanging clothes on a plastic hanger. Toddlers and preschoolers can also be engaged by playing dress-up, working on putting clothes on, or taking them off by themselves.

4. Shoe-perBowl

Name different types of shoes - sneakers, rain boots, dress shoes, flip flops. With older children, sort them by colour or size [ smallest to largest; shortest to tallest ]. Practice putting them on and off the shelf or on and off your feet. Preschoolers can start working on tying a shoelace!

5. Drawer Explorer

Allow your child to open/close drawers + doors in different rooms - the kitchen, the bathroom, a bedroom. Discuss the items you find inside. Name them, and demonstrate how they work.

6. Kitchen Kaboom

Provide an assortment of pots, bowls, and utensils to use as musical instruments. Work together to recognize the different sounds made by a wooden spoon vs. a metal spoon, a plastic bowl vs. a metal pot, etc. Experiment with playing them loudly and playing them softly.

7. TP Towers

Allow your child to play with the rolls, either full or empty! Full, fluffy rolls can be stacked like blocks, used to practice throwing or rolling, or for older children even to practice putting them on and off your bathroom holder. Empty rolls make a great telescope or horn!

8. Tinfoil Tactics

Wrap items in tinfoil and encourage kids to unwrap and discover what’s inside. For older children, you could even hide the items around the house like Easter eggs! [ But maybe think twice about this part if you have pets. You don’t need to experience emergency intestinal surgery right now, on top of house arrest! ]

9. The Tupperware Test

How many mismatched containers and lids live inside your Tupperware drawer? Let your kids answer this question for you! Match tops to their bottoms, practice putting lids on and off, and stack small ones into large ones.

10. Paper Party

Explore paper junk from the recycling bin. See how many different types/textures you can find together - flyers, magazines, cardboard tubes, egg cartons, etc.

11. Soapy Surprise

Set your child up with a makeshift “water table” inside the bathroom/bathtub or kitchen, including a shallow container of soapy water for dipping, a sponge, a scrub brush, and a towel. Allow them to “wash” different items like plastic toys or food, small kitchen utensils, or “give a bath” to an all-plastic baby doll.

12. Super Suitcases

You may not be heading to the airport anytime soon, but you can still haul your luggage out of the basement for playtime! Explore suitcases by moving the zippers, let your child climb inside, on top of, spin the wheels and pull the handle in and out. You may even find some forgotten treasures if you’re not great at unpacking!

13. Busy Bucket Bathtime

Enhance bath time by adding some new tub toys straight from your own cupboards! Provide your child with a variety of containers to experiment with - a colander, salad spinner, empty water bottle, a clean squirt bottle. Also, no need to delay bath until evening; a mid-day splash might result in a better mood all afternoon!

14. Wallet Wow!

Find an empty wallet [ or empty your own ], dig out all those rewards cards you had forgotten about, and let your child fill the wallet, play “store” or “money” with you, or sort the cards by colours or letters.

15. Silly Shakers

Make DIY shakers by filling a container - a tupperware, a plastic water bottle, or an empty jar - with noisy contents. Experiment with how different contents can make different sounds - dry pasta, coins, nuts and bolts, paperclips. For this activity, it’s a good idea to secure the lid with duct tape and/or use extra cautious adult supervision to ensure your child doesn’t get their hands on something that could be a choking hazard.

16. Bag Bonanza

Set your child up with gift bags, wrapping paper, and ribbons [ make sure any staples have been removed ]. Sort the bags from large to small or by colour, stack the bags together, fill them with tissue paper and have fun pulling it out again, tickle each other with ribbon or practice tying knots.

17. I Spy…

Sit in a high chair, swing, bumbo, or on a lap near a window and watch what’s happening outside. Give commentary to your child such as labeling the colours of the cars, the atmosphere outside [ snow, wind ], any animals you see, etc.

18. Tricky Toys

Tape toys to a high chair tray or a wall and help your child to rescue them. The older the child, the tougher the tape you can use, or the smaller the toys!

19. Spice is Nice

Flip the lids open on your spice jars and allow your child to smell all the different seasonings from your pantry. Close them up again and sort them by size or colour, or enlist your child’s help in putting them back into the cupboard.

20. When In Doubt, Dance It Out!

As a professional dance educator [ just another little side hustle! ], I’ve compiled a kid-friendly playlist that will get your child moving and grooving right in your own living room! This one is great mid-morning to get little bodies to expend some energy before nap time.

Be sure to drop me a note or comment on facebook or instagram which activity was your favourite! Better yet, post a picture or video and tag me @adoreyourbirth!

Lindsey Bowns is a professional Calgary doula. adora birth + wellness provides DONA International certified birth doula services, working alongside your local midwife or OB, in hospital or at home.