Screen-Free Rainy Day Toddler Activities for 12-18 Month Olds

As a first-time mom coming up with fun toddler activities can be challenging. Especially when it is a rainy day and we are stuck inside all day. My son is always on the go. He is a little wild man and I love it. But, it can also be very exhausting unless I have some go-to toddler activities that I can whip out at a moments notice to keep him entertained while we are stuck indoors. We really try to limit TV in our house so having ways to entertain my son that are screen-free is a must. Here are my top 10 toddler activities for my 14-month-old.

Ball pit

This is one of my son’s favorite things to do these days. He loves to sit in his ball bit and kick his little legs and watch the balls jump around. He also loves to throw the balls out of the pit and he gets so excited to see them go bounce or roll away. All the different colors and the texture of the balls in the pit is an awesome sensory experience for my son. I also use this is to teach him to clean up after himself. After he has a blast throwing all the balls out of his ball pit then we work together to put them all back.

Which sometimes it turns into him getting mad and trying to pull out any of them that we put back into the pit but hey he is only 14 months so we are still working on it. You win some you lose some. I created this ball pit using PVC pipes and I sewed a fabric covering (but you can make this out of any container like a toy bin). I got the balls from Toys R Us for cheap since they are going out of business… sad day.

Dry bath

If my son had it his way he would live in the bathtub. He looooves taking baths and playing in the bathtub. But, he can’t become a merman so we do dry baths. I literally just put in a bunch of his bath toys and put him in the bath without water and fully clothed. He gets super excited and just has the time of his life even without the water.

Cloth pull

I love to sew and do DIY crafts using fabric and ribbons so I have tons of scraps. Using an empty Amazon box I cut small holes all over it and used the scraps of fabric and ribbon to create a busy pull box. Then I tied a bunch of the scraps together so he can pull it out really far and pull it back in from the opposite side. The shorter pieces hang out all over the box and my son can pull on them from the outside as well. My son loves to feel all the different textures and it is a great way to develop his fine motor skills.

Paint bags

I love the idea of finger painting because it is a great sensory activity for kids but sometimes I am just not in the mood to have such a mess on my hands. Alright, I admit it. I can’t always be super mom. But paint in a bag is the best of both worlds! I just fill a gallon size zip bag with a couple different paint colors, use painters tape and tape the sealed bag to the window and let me son “finger paint”. He loves the feeling of it and can’t get enough of it.

Egg/balloon scavenger hunt

 

  

This idea my mother-in-law came up with and I loooove it! It is so easy to set up and my son has a blast searching for the eggs. Basically you fill Easter eggs with kid-friendly stuff (puffs, biscuits, small toys, etc. just make it heavy enough to be a weight for the balloon) and tie a helium balloon to it (tape it down for extra hold) and place them all over the house/playroom and let your child have a blast searching for them. My son literally was busting out laughing running around finding all of the balloons. It was adorable.

He loved shaking the eggs to hear what was inside and when we were done with the egg hunt I would give him the eggs to shake and crack open. You can pick up a couple of balloons from the store while you get your groceries and have a fun, easy, hilarious game with your toddler.

Paper Towel Roll Drop

My son’s favorite thing to do lately is to drop things into other things (super specific I know). Like putting a block into a container or dropping a small toy down an empty paper towel roll and watching it fall to see if it fits. He loves it! This is a cheap, fun activity that keeps my son busy for a long time.

Magnets

I got a set of letter magnets for our refrigerator and my son loves putting them on and pulling them off. He seriously thinks magnets are hilarious. His aunt bought him these really cool wooden magnetic tiles. He will put them together then laugh pull them apart then laugh over and over and over. He loves it!

Plastic bowl drum solo

My mother in law watches my son while I am at work two days a week and he loves to pull stuff out of the cabinet, stack them up and bang on them. So she made the “William” cabinet that is full of big plastic blows and baskets that are all William safe. I can spend $1,000 on a fancy new toy but my son always seems to prefer the DIY free toys and games we make for him. I also found him a plastic drum at TJMaxx that he just loves (picture above)!

Hidden treasures (aka sand hide and seek)

This is so simple to set up you just need a bin, sand (or rice would work great too) and plastic toys. Fill the bin a few inches deep in sand and bury the plastic toys in it. When I first started playing this with my son I would leave a tiny piece of the toy sticking out so he could see it and start digging. But, now he just digs in and starts to search. He loves playing with sand and loves to find his hidden treasures.

Sensory bottles

Kids love to shake up bottles and see how things move inside or listen to the sound it makes. This is a great game for sensory development! Fill an empty water bottle with a small amount of glitter, sequins or sand and let your child shake it up. You can also do themed sensory bottles. Like if you are going a family vacation to the beach fill the bottle with some sand, seashells, and driftwood. Let your little one tell you what is in the bottle to get them excited about your upcoming trip. Check out my post on how we survived an 18-hour car ride with my son when he was 6 months old and teething. Or if you are reading a book about space make a galaxy sensory bottle. Just use water, baby oil, glitter, and food coloring!