Screen-free Alternatives for Toddlers

Technology provides us with many valuable tools, but there will be few parents who wish their children spent more time on screens. Undoubtedly there will also be few children who will look back as adults and say, ‘I wish I’d spent more time on an iPad when I was younger’. However these young adults in the future might wish they’d learnt more skills, made more friends, and had more life experiences as they were growing up. And for any parents who worry that if they limit their kids’ screen time, they might end up falling behind their peers in terms of tech-smarts, fear not. Kids will undoubtedly be exposed to screens and technology throughout their lives, whether it be tablets at home or computers at school. Regardless of that, research suggests that not only will they get enough exposure to technology to understand it, but that other diverse transferrable skills, such as creativity, will be more useful in the future world, whatever it holds in store.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends that children aged 2-5 years should limit non-educational screen time to 1 hour per weekday and 3 hours each day at weekends. However, this might be unrealistic for some busy parents and research conducted by Oxford University suggested that parents could follow the ‘Goldilocks Theory’ and find a healthy balance that is ‘just right’ for their child. After all, even parents need a break sometimes! Although it can be hard for busy (and often tired) mums and dads to think of what to do when toddlers are bored of playing with their toys, fear not, for here are 12 of our favourite screen-free activities for toddlers:

Reading

As well as being a fantastic form of relaxation and escapism, reading is a skill for life. Although toddlers will need to have a parent read to them, they’ll love turning the pages and will eventually be able to ‘read’ out loud the stories that they know off by heart, improving their self-confidence.

Board and Card Games

Most toddlers will only be able to play the simplest board games but card games that involve matching images or numbers can be a great way of improving their visual intelligence.

Puzzles

Floor puzzles can be a great activity for toddlers that will help improve their gross motor skills (those involving the large muscles in the arms, legs and torsos, which are important for everyday coordination) and fine motor skills (involving the small muscles in the hands and wrists and important for more precise movements, such as brushing teeth and drawing).

Crafts

Although toddlers will be limited in the crafts they can do, even with supervision, painting and sticker books are always sure-fire winners that are great for improving fine motor skills. As an example, kids can help decorate a caterpillar made from egg cartons.

Outdoor Play

Kids will enjoy pushing prams, sitting on buggies, or splashing in a shallow inflatable pool (always supervised) and through these activities they’ll get exercise and develop their gross motor skills.

Building

Toddlers love building things, whether it’s balancing blocks, stacking cups, or making forts from blankets and chairs (OK, they’ll have to watch you doing that construction work!). Building activities are great ways to develop their problem-solving skills.

Dressing up

What child doesn’t like dressing up as a doctor or firefighter? Older toddlers can dress in costumes and enjoy the experience of playing make believe, an activity that’s highly effective at developing their imaginations and creativity.

Toy kitchen

Toddlers can spend hours playing in a toy kitchen. It’s an activity where they can play at being an adult as they make you a meal or a cup of tea. As with dressing up, the impacts on imagination and creativity are off the scale.

Hand printing

Most toddlers like getting messy, and what better way than in an activity where they’re allowed to make art with their messy paw prints? This is a great sensory activity and a perfect introduction to the artistic world.

Sorting boxes

Get some plastic containers from your kitchen and give your toddler a bag of mixed items, such as different coloured balls or different shapes, and get them to sort them into groups. This is a fantastic activity for developing problem-solving skills and perseverance.

Excavation site

Fill a large bowl with sand and bury a few of your toddler’s plastic toys in it – they’ll have great fun finding the toys and digging them up. This activity ticks many developmental boxes – fine motor skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, to name but a few.

Sink or float experiments

Fill a bowl with water and assemble a collection of items, some of which will float and some of which will sink. Ask your toddler to guess which will sink or float and then watch their reactions as they drop them on the water. It’s never too early to start learning about science!

These are just a handful of the almost limitless screen-free activities that you can do with toddlers. Although they involve a lot of parental involvement, these activities are wonderful for building bonds with your toddlers and will pay dividends as they grow older. Enjoy the fun and games!