Keep Any Active Toddler Busy With These Ideas

When you are dealing with toddlers, it is extremely difficult to calm them down. Toddlers seem to have endless amount of energy that can make you all frustrated and you then are anxious to find ways to keep the little things occupied. Instead of using the little bit of energy you have left to search for more ideas, try out these simply activities with them:

Yogurt Art:

So the food playing notion has proven to be pre historic now! Let your toddler paint tasty works of drawing through yogurt. Select a few different colors of yogurt, and pour tiny portions of each flavor into different bowls. Place a sheet of waxed paper, and let your child go wild making finger paintings. The best part: if some "paint" goes flying, it's easy to clean up and doesn't leave stains.

Homemade Salt Dough:

Small kids adore playing with salt dough, but they also love to lend a hand in making it. Creating a batch of homemade dough requires very little effort, but it has a huge payoff. It will amuse your toddler for hours! Pour 2 cups of flour into a big bowl. Add 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water, and let your toddler mix it until it becomes a ball. Then watch her sculpt to her heart's content.

Animal Prints:

If you are short on craft supplies you don’t need to worry art all!! You can always pull off a crafty activity with your toddler's hands and feet. Rest a sheet of construction or printing paper on a table. Sketch around your child’s hand or foot using a pencil, washable marker or a crayon, and assist her cut out her prints using toddler-safe scissors. Have your toddler color them in to look like animals, flowers or people.

Toddler-Friendly Gardening:

Little children find dirt irresistible, so keep your toddler entertained by creating his own garden? If you don't want to upset your backyard, just place a lightweight flower pot on your porch or patio. Instead of a sharp trowel, give your kid a synthetic sand shovel to fill the planter with potting dirt. Help him plant a few seeds of plants that you know he will enjoy watching grow, like carrots, radishes or tomatoes. Your child will love watching the plants mature and eventually picking fresh food out of his very own garden.

Mommy-and-Me Baking Party:

Toddlers always want to help, especially when it comes to making food. Encourage your toddler's interest by allowing her to produce a real recipe, such as chocolate chip cookies, and let her do as many steps as possible. She can break eggs, pour in the flour and help stir the cookie dough, while you handle the more dangerous work around the oven.

Camera Safari:

Wouldn't you love to know what the world looks like through your toddler's eyes? When you take your child on a camera safari, you can! Equip your little one with an inexpensive digital camera or phone. Walk around your backyard, through your house or in the grocery store to allow your toddler to take pictures of the world around her. You can print your favorite snapshots, frame them and hang them in your toddler's bedroom.