As caregivers to little ones, we lead busy lives! Sometimes, we just need a few moments to ourselves, and it can be helpful to put on our child’s favorite show to entertain them. It’s also important to make sure we’re providing our children with enriching activities outside of the screen. We’ve provided a list of fun, non-screen activities that toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy with limited adult supervision to give you some time back in your day.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends that children ages 18 months to 5 years old get no more than two hours of screen time each day. This guideline is designed to promote healthy habits and reduce the potential negative effects of screen exposure in early childhood.
Outside of screen time, there are many other activities your toddler or preschooler can do by themselves. In fact, independent play provides a lot of benefits for our little ones! Just make sure you stay close by in case they need you and to watch how they’re doing. To start, have your child do an activity by themselves for about 5 minutes at a time. Then, gradually increase the amount of time as your child becomes more comfortable.
Reading Corner: Create a cozy reading nook. Fill it with age-appropriate books for your child to explore on their own. To make it extra cozy, you can add their favorite stuffed animals, toys, and soft blankets.
Puzzles and Building Activities: Give your child age-appropriate puzzles and building toys to enjoy solo.
Coloring and Drawing: Create an art station where your child can draw or color. Some caregivers choose to cover the kitchen table in paper and let their child’s imagination run wild.
Make-Believe Play: Find costumes, props, dolls, and even old clothes you don’t mind getting messy. Encourage your child to play make-believe by acting out scenes, creating stories, or pretending to be different characters they love. When you check back in, ask them to show you what they’ve been acting out.
Create and Explore a Collection: Encourage your child to create their own collection of items from around the house. To make sure they select safe, age-appropriate items, try giving them some prompts, like creating a collection of their favorite clothes, things that are soft, things that are squishy, or items in a particular area that you’re both in. Once they’ve created their collection, they can tell you all about it.
Listening to Music or Audiobooks: You can try playing age-appropriate music or audiobooks that they can listen to while they do any of the other activities. You can even challenge them to keep doing the activity until the song ends.
As caregivers, we’re all doing our best every day. Trying a mix of screen time and other independent play activities throughout the day can be a great way to help you both thrive!
