Having to entertain a toddler all day at home is like trying to juggle jellyfish: hard-to-handle, unpredictable and probably a bit messy. What really helps is having a varied store of engaging, brain-boosting activities to call on to keep your child happy, stimulated and engaged. And we've got masses of them for you right here...

Advertisement

Here are some great ideas for home-based learning activities, games, books, toys and crafts for 1 and 2 year olds...

Downloadable activity sheets

downloadables for toddlers

We have all sorts of fun, developmentally stimulating activity sheets for you to download, print and share with your toddler – whether you're after something to boost their counting skills, something to help them make marks with a pencil or something to hone their powers of observation...

Numbers and counting

Pre-reading and pencil-marking

Observation and imagination

More like this

Literacy: first writing and pre-reading

Fine motor skills: colouring and mazes

Learning through movement and play

Games to play

games to play with your toddler

Thinking of ways to get your child up and moving – and learning as they play – can be tricky when outings beyond the house are limited and maybe there's not a lot of space to run around safely indoors. We've found some great ideas for indoor games and activities – some of them based on boosting motor skills, and a whole host of others that include everything from flour drawing to sock matching to 'hunt the teddy'...

And when all else fails – or you just need a break...

Books

best books for toddlers

Finding time every day – even several times a day – to look at a book with your toddler and talk about the pictures you see can bring a welcome, slower, cuddlier change of pace after a long session of more active or more directed play. Here are a few of our most-loved book recommendations for toddler...

Try these podcasts, too

Toys

best toys for toddlers

Great toddler toys keep your child learning as they play – whether that's in a more obvious educational-toy kind of way or in a looser, imagination-expanding, pretend-play kind of way. We've tested and reviewed hundreds of toys in the past few years, picking out the very best to recommend in the dozens of toy articles we publish and regularly update. Take a look at the toys we really rate for 1 to 2 year olds...

Toys to stimulate the imagination (and lots of dressing up)

Toys to get them moving, even indoors

Toys to get them creatively lost in their own little world

Toys to keep them thinking and working things out

And the pick of the toys our child testers loved the best

Crafts

simple fluttery birds toddler craft

Making and glueing and cutting and painting – and creating something special to stick on the wall or mantlepiece for all to admire: crafting with your toddler is definitely worth the time and the (yes, OK, inevitably messy) effort. Here are some lovely little projects to make together...

Advertisement

Read more...

Authors

Helen Brown
Helen BrownHead of Content Delivery

Helen is author of the classic advice book Parenting for Dummies and a mum of 3. Before joining MadeForMums, she was Head of Community at Mumsnet and also the Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement