Toddlers are generally full of energy and love to be active and this energy is great for keeping them healthy. They have only recently discovered the ability to walk and, with that, comes the challenge of getting into everything. So it’s important to try to keep up with your toddler by playing games together, going on walks together and taking them to family activities. This will help to nurture their love of learning and exploration by keeping them busy with age-appropriate activities. They are constantly moving and exploring their surroundings and it doesn’t matter if they are at home, in your office, or even indulging in the best possible pre-school dance lessons, they will find things worth looking at.
That means, if you’re at home, you need to find ways to keep your toddler amused and active. If you don’t they are likely to have even more energy and find it difficult to fall asleep when they should.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep your toddler active at home:
Dance Party
Don’t worry, you don’t need a household of kids to make this work. It can be done with just you and your toddler. Simply start dancing and stop when the music stops. Add in a prize or a forfeit if your toddler moves when they shouldn’t and you can keep them amused and active for hours.
Balloon Fun
Balloons are great and you don’t need to master making balloon animals! Simply blow up a balloon and challenge your toddler to hit it back and forth with you without letting it touch the floor. It’s harder than it sounds and is a great way to burn some of their energy while improving their hand-to-eye coordination.
Keyword Stories
Get your child to choose their favourite book and choose a word that appears often in the story. Then, you can read the story to your toddler and, every time you say the particular word, your toddler has to jump up and down or do another specified action. It’s fun and helps your child appreciate books.
Try Hula Hooping
Simply trying this as an adult can be hilarious fun. Add a toddler into the mix and you won’t just burn energy, you’ll both be in fits of laughter. You can always walk forward or backwards while hula hooping. Or, you can try it on different body parts, such as feet or legs.
In-house Soccer
Get yourself a soft ball that can’t do any damage to your home. Then, create a goal at each end of the hallway or another room in the house and start playing football. Simply set a goal target and the first team to score the designated goals wins.
Laser Lines
You’ve seen the films where the criminal has to cross a room without disturbing the laser beams. Replicate this with wool and replicate the laser room. Your toddler’s challenge is to make it across the room without touching the ‘lasers’.
An Indoor Obstacle Course
Create a simply indoor obstacle course which has your toddler crawling through and under things, jumping from one thing to another, and even climbing. The obstacle course doesn’t need to be large, after all, your toddler is small!
But, you can set them a time target and they’ll go around several times, burning off their energy in the process.
All you really need is a little imagination to keep your toddler happy and active inside.
