Ways To Keep The Young Ones Occupied

With the current buzz about restricting screen time for kids these days, parents question how to keep their active children busy. It is daunting for parents when they have to deal with work and household chores on top of caring for their young ones each day. As a result, we need to be creative in providing activities to keep our little ones busy. 

Here are some activities I did with my three daughters when they were toddlers.

Music

I exposed my girls to a lot of music of various genres. Music was played at home, in the car and everywhere else. I would be able to put them to sleep swaying to a song. Yes…even babies have favourite music! When they were toddlers, we would often have “dance parties”. We would just hop, jump, sway and be silly to any kind of music. Even to kids’ games with music and songs on the computer. (These were CD-ROMs played on the family computer in the 90s). It’s a really good way to expend children’s energy and teach self expression. Parents get to relieve their stress and keep fit at the same time too! The idea here is that if we have to tap on technology, we do it with them. Much better than just watching the screen without supervision. 

Art and Craft

Providing recycled materials like paper, boxes, string or ribbons can be really fun for young children. There are endless ideas available online. Doing them together is great for bonding. It also inculcates an awareness for recycling and innovation. Placing simple colour pencils, crayons and paper within reach encourages the kids to doodle and draw freely on designated materials rather than on walls or furniture. 

In the Kitchen

It is tough trying to cook while keeping an eye on your active and curious toddler. So I included her in the process. In a safe corner of the kitchen, I would lay out some pots or unbreakable crockery and (blunt) utensils. Example like big wooden spoons. She would hit on them like drums. Noisy, but it keeps them occupied.  

Most kids like to play with water too. So as an extension to the above idea, put a small tub of water on a towel. (To prevent slipping on spillage) and a low stool to sit on.  Provide plastic cups and ladles and other floaty bath toys. This can keep your toddler busy for quite a while. 

• Important note: Always have your child within your sight especially when water is concerned. Drowning can occur even in a few inches of water. 

Doing Chores

Put a small broom in a child’s hands and they will be thrilled! They are always happy to ‘help’ you while you clean your floors. Or give them a dry rag to clean the furniture. 

Teach them to put away their toys by organising them in colourful boxes. Make it a game in which they can compete with each other to see who can be the fastest.

Laundry is a huge chore for every family! Sorting and folding the washed clothes can be made fun for your toddler. They can learn groupings of clothes and their names. For example, pile clothing according to tops, bottoms, underwear or socks.

No standards are expected from these actions. It is the value gained. For the child, it is all about spending time and learning through imitation. For the parent, you are teaching your child life skills and getting your chores done. 

Going Out

Every trip out of the house should include at least one or two bags of “Barang”. It translates to a great big bag of everything! Besides the essential milk and diapers, we often brought books and small toys too. 

When a baby was able to sit in a baby chair during meal times, I would bring out age-appropriate books or jigsaw puzzles. Small interactive toys are helpful too. These activities are important in developing a child’s motor skills. I once saw two little brothers at a food center happily playing with a couple of toy cars. They were occupied throughout the parents’ meal. That was very encouraging.

In A Vehicle

Be it a car, bus or train, toddlers can become restless and difficult. A way to distract them is to find games to play like “Eye Spy”. Another is to spot objects that your child is fascinated with. For example, playgrounds, signs, bicycles, red cars. Or to learn numbers by counting the bus stops or stations. Count the seconds before the train door closes. See if it is the same number each time. This creates an anticipation for the stops instead of just wanting to get off. 

These suggestions require energy, patience and effort from a parent. However, children grow up much too fast. Grasp every moment to be a part of their journey. Childhood takes up approximately only 23% of a person’s life, parents form the most impressions during these formative years. Put on your creative thinking cap and you will be surprised what comes out of it!