How To Distract Your Toddler

Toddlers, toddlers, toddlers! They are busy little people aren't they? As you know I have a very mischievous toddler and it's becoming quite difficult to try and get five minutes to myself. Last week she turned it up a notch and discovered an escape route out of her high chair - what a nightmare! So you could say that my daughter keeps me on my toes. We all know that life with little ones can be exhausting and we can't let them watch the TV all day.


Whilst looking for ideas to distract my toddler I have found that there are quite a few household items that have become handy. These activities can help develop fine and gross motor skills, enhance toddler thinking skills and help build their self-esteem as they accomplish tasks on their own. So let's get to it so you can enjoy that cup of tea.

Play Fetch

Now I know what you are thinking, how could she think playing a dogs game is a distraction? But seriously my daughter loves playing fetch with me and it guarantees a distraction for ages. We cannot help but giggle when we play fetch because she will always make a huffing and puffing noise when she returns with the ball - I think that this is down to Daddy Pig being very unfit! Bad Daddy Pig! When we are outside we will always play fetch with the dog and they both will try and fetch the ball, as you can assume she never gets the ball and gets a little grumpy. 

Muffin Pan Fun 

This is an activity that you could do for your little one with supplies you already have around the house. Give your toddler several plastic balls and an empty muffin pan - it is as simple as that! If you want to get involved you can easily turn this into a learning activity by counting the balls or naming the colours. My daughter knows most of her colours and I would have to say that this is partly due to this activity we are trying our numbers but it goes something like this...2,2,2 go! and then she runs!


Colander & Straws

There is nothing more exciting than pulling straws out of a colander. For this activity you simply have to place the straws into the colander and hand it to your toddler, just wait and see what they make of their new toy. Amelia loved to pulling the straws and handing them back to me so I could repost them for her, but after a couple of times it was far more interesting reposting them herself. However fun with straws doesn't end there...there are so many more activities that can encourage independent play - pulling the straws out of the container and put them back this one can be time consuming for beginners so I would have to recommend a Netflix binge. 


The Peg Drop

Some children are obsessed with pegs aren't they? Amelia obsession started when I asked her to help me hang the washing outside and before I knew it she ran off with the peg bag to place them all down her slide. Pegs are so much fun outside but can be great for indoors too. The peg drop is a quick and easy activity to prepare for, you simply need pegs and two containers then get your toddler to transfer pegs from one basket to another. We have also tried pegging them around her basket to shake things up a bit but Amelia insisted on trying to peg herself and pegged her finger...so be wary with little fingers! 


Pom Poms

Every household needs a packet of pom poms to hand because they are great for any emergency lets play/distract situations. If you don't, trust me you need some. There is just something about pom poms that children love and they come in all different shapes, sizes and colours so they will be sure to distract your toddlers attention instantly. We have used pom poms for a range of different toddler activities our favourite has to be using them with her Melissa & Doug cleaning set, soon enough we became quite the expert with cleaning pom poms! I love simple fine motor skill activities that I don't have to search high and low for materials. 


Building Blocks

Building blocks have always been a favourite among children thanks to the fact that they are challenging and lots of fun, especially for toddlers. By using the building blocks requires your child to put them in a position so that they don't topple over and in doing so enhances their hand eye coordination and their pincer grip. Your toddler will learn how to create different structures using building blocks which stimulates their creative mind. So whether its stacking blocks, stacking cups or lining up batteries it will always keep your toddler distracted to finish your cup of tea. 


What ways do you distract your toddler? I would love to know.

16 comments

  1. I love this! So many of the ideas never occurred to me! You are quite the ingenious Momma! #bestandworst

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  2. Absolutely love these ideas!! Going to try the straws in colander one right now. #justanotherlinky

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  3. Great ideas! I will definitely borrow some of these with my also very active 15-month-old. #KCACOLS

    Nadia - ScandiMummy x

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  4. I love the use of the kitchen colander, some simple yet clever ideas #KCACOLS

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  5. Colander and straws!! Gold! Need it right now! Have definitely been known to play a bit of fetch in my time... #justanotherlinky

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  6. Oh my goodness that colander and straws is genius! I will be using that one. Thanks #KCACOLS

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  7. These are so creative - I love that one with the colander! :) #KCACOLS

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  8. Fab list of ideas! Both my kids have been drawn to the peg basket in the past, I'm not quite sure what the appeal is but I'll happily let them play with it, great for fine motor skills! x #KCACOLS

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  9. Loads of good ideas, you obviously have a good handle on how to master the art of distraction!:) x

    mainy - myrealfairy

    #KCACOLS

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  10. Love this! These are activities I can really use! The colander and straws and pegs in particular, genius! #KCACOLS

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  11. These are such great ideas! Absolutely love that they are all things you can do with objects we all have at home - no need to buy anything. Thanks so much for linking up with #bloggerclubuk x

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  12. I love the colander and straws idea. This will keep Little B occupied for ages - thank you! #KCACOLS

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  14. These are really great ideas!! I have used some of them but there are a couple that are new to me so I will try them at home with Sienna. Thanks so much for sharing this at #KCACOLS. It is nice having you here. Only just a big favour, please do not forget to comment the post before your post. I would really appreciate if you could do that comment! Thanks so much in advance, :-) xx

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  16. I love this post! My daughter is just entering the toddler stage so I'm saving this post for future reference :) thanks for sharing!

    #KCACOLS

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