How to Keep a Toddler Busy on a Budget

Please welcome fellow boy mom  Karen Del Ben aka: Canadian Coupon Chick! She has some great ideas to share on how to keep those kiddies from getting bored! Thanks Karen!

I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my 2 year old son for the summer and I am always looking for ideas of how to entertain him for the whole day, especially days my husband has taken the car to work and we can’t venture too far away from home. I realized early on this summer that if we were going to be staying home all day that I better come up with some ideas to keep him entertained and still not spend an arm and a leg at the store.

One of the first activities we did actually took up almost our whole morning and a good portion of our afternoon. I am lucky to live in a family oriented neighbourhood that is many different kinds of parks within walking distance. I pack a few snacks, lunch and lots of water and we walk around going to different parks. The first park I start at is always the furthest away and we play there for about an hour before venturing out to the next park. By lunch time we have already visited 3 parks stop for lunch before head back to our neighbourhood park that has a splash pad. We are usually at the splash pad longer than the other parks. After the splash pad my son is usually worn out and ready to come home.

We have also done a few indoor activities such as making play dough, baking cookies and making Rice Krispie treats. My son loves to sit on the counter and add the ingredients to the bowl at the same time as sampling the batter.

Another inexpensive activity to do at home is to cover your coffee table in paper. We do this often at our house. I have purchased a large roll of paper that I cut and tape down to my coffee table. Some days we paint, some days we use it a sticker board, or just use it to colour and draw pictures. There are so many different things you can do with large rolls of paper. Just recently I rolled a long strip across my living room floor and we created a little city for all of my son’s toys and cars. Its lasted a week on our floor before it started riping, but every day we found something to add to it. It was a great activity and was different from what he is use to.

Finally, one of my son’s favourite activities this summer is sitting in his wading pool. We live in a small townhome that does not have a backyard, but we do have a balcony which is the perfect size for a kid’s swimming pool. After filling the pool up with warm water from the kitchen sink, I put in a huge block of ice that I have made the night before in a large bucket. Inside the bucket I will also put in plastic toys that will eventually melt inside the pool. My son sat for just over an hour trying to get his toys out of the ice with a plastic spoon he used to chisel his way through.

Sometimes the cheapest activities are the easiest ones. Take a look around your home, what sorts of things can do differently to interact with your child. Sometimes it’s a easy as building a zoo out of legos or chasing each other with oven mitts that will spark interest and creativity with a child’s play.

You can find me on: Facebook, Twitter @CCouponchick or on my blog canadiancouponingchick.blogspot.ca
As I say with my readers Happy Couponing, but today Happy Playing and Saving!