Independent Toddler Play Activities

We just recently had our second child (yes, now I have two under two!), and I am needing my toddler to independently entertain herself sometimes. Below are some of the activities that she can successfully play independently or semi-independently. She still likes to be around me for some of these activities but doesn’t need me to be as hands-on as with other activities. She may need prompting or praise and validation, but is capable of doing most of it herself. I also wrote a post on how I am handling a toddler and a newborn.

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Independent and Semi-Independent Toddler Activities:

• Crayons for coloring
• Puzzles (especially this singing Baby Shark one)
• Books, especially lift-the-flap or pop-up books (see our favorite lift-the-flap books here)
• Toy tea set (we got this food grade one). I fill the teapot up with water, give her a towel for a tablecloth, and she loves pouring and drinking the water. If she makes a mess, I give her another towel and we clean it up later once I have hands again.
• Play Kitchen – there’s such a variety out there! There’s fancy large ones, wooden ones, or small plastic ones.
• Snacks
• Stickers (I recently bought these reusable sticker books to try) but my toddler also enjoys any stickers. I have a lot of stickers from my childhood that she sticks in a notebook.
• Watch a movie – screens are a great tool for those extra hard days. Our favorites are Daniel Tiger on Amazon and Winnie the Pooh on Disney+
• Watch videos of herself on my phone
• Water no-mess coloring books

Outside toddler play that is still hands-off (though it should probably be supervised):

• Toddler Slide inside or outside
• Mud kitchen outside
• Water table outside
• Sprinkler or splash pad outside
• Chalk outside