Things to do with a toddler.

He's just gone for a nap so I've caught up with more ideas. Thank you all.

I was also going to suggest cardboard boxes - my son used to spend ages in them pretending they were a car, boat, house etc. with the addition of a few props. Even a washing basket worked when he was very small. Another suggestion would be to use an old roll of wallpaper/lining paper to make a 'town'. Draw a road for his cars and then Duplo buildings and drawings of people, trees etc. can be added as you go. It could stretch across the whole floor as there's something about the scale that gives lasting appeal and it can be rolled up for use another day.

I’ve looked after both my grandkids.... the little lad would love indoors to paint...draw...colour...read...listen to stories. The only time the outdoors called to him was if I produced a fishing net on pole and took him in wellies down to our river ( The Great Ouse).... luckily we lived only 1/4 mile away. My granddaughter five years later wouldn’t stay in the house whatever the weather, wellies on ... up the park with a ball... heading straight for playground equipment far too old for her... (zip lines at two years old)!!??.... digging for worms in the garden and transporting them to another part of garden...mud pies...snail farm ( I kid you not). Kids will find their own occupations... to their own abilities and expectations... all you have to do is keep them safe, and if possible leave the back door open. You sound to me like you are providing him with a multitude of occupations, and I agree it’s never too early to get them interested in Baku g. My granddaughter is 8 now and has finished with the snails and worms , but loves to bake brownies. Although her hand built woodpile with the ongoing wood lice and crawling things are still there. She is innocent enough to believe they are the same ones!!

I would always have playdough in the house - small GS always loves it and will spend hours making shapes and then gleefully crushing them. Now he has more motor control we have bought a couple of machines that extrude fancy shapes - cries of joy, and more happy hours! A small easel, blackboard one side and white the other was also enormous fun - perhaps he will like that when he has stopped eating crayons!

I recommend a giant bottle of bubbles -from Amazon.It seems expensive but last for ages.Lots of fun in all weather conditions.A giant bubble wand is supplied and the enormous bubbles are spectacular. I tried making my own bubbles from various recipes. They were pretty poor in comparison.

Play doh goes down very well with my GC, and painting (big plastic sheets on floor, table, chairs, walls, ceiling...)
Indoor water play with little tea sets. Setting up a cardboard shop and contents to go shopping
For older children there’s a brilliant web site with lots of free printable projects made from card or paper plates it’s valled
’Easy Peasy and Fun’

All my gc have enjoyed bubbles and playdough ,and setting up brio tracks youngest gs plays with cars always brings one car and swops it for one of ours to take home ,he doesn't like jigsaws or books he is 3yrs .

I looked after one grandson from 8 months. Even before he could walk he was obsessed with cars and took to carrying one in each hand wherever he went including up to bed.
I filled a tray with small pasta and he pushed his diggers and trucks around for ages at the kitchen table while I cooked. When he was old enough to be trusted not to eat stones I substituted gravel (which I had washed very thoroughly) and he still enjoyed playing with it from time to time at age four.
However all children are different and the grandson I now have responsibility for can’t see the point at all. He just wants to draw and build.

Sounds like he has a pretty full-on time with you GrandmaBatty. Why do you need more?

Make paper boats and sail them in a washing up bowl or the bath, also make paper aeroplanes or make paper hats and decorate them according to the time of year.
Have some nursery rhyme cassettes and sing and dance to them. Old MacDonald and ringa ringa roses are good for actions.

Sorry if someone has already mentioned this but a ball pool. A paddling pool and you buy some bags of very light balls. He can jump in them, cover himself with them. Obviously throw them but very light plastic.

My granddaughter (3) loves to play with small balls (like in a ball pit). Although she is a bit older she loves to throw them into a target (waste paper bin) and have a competition with grandad. As they are light they bounce off things and don’t cause damage. They okay in the garden on nice days and dining room when wet.

Should say play not okay!

Lyndie, we made a little 'gate' (piece of wood) across the corner of the room - then filled it with the balls.

Once he's past the 'eat everything' phase, try 'trucks on a tray'.

We'd fill the tray with rice krispies, bread or biscuit crumbs etc. and GS would transport them on his various trucks and diggers.

Easy enough to vacuum up - or play in the garden, the birds will enjoy it too!

how about making fairy cakes ,toddlers love to mix things ,and get gooey at the same time., or if you can stand the noise a box of musical instruments. or a long cloth over the table for a tent...

Sing nursery rhymes with him, even if you have no singing voice to speak of.

He will love it, and by passing on the old rhymes you are preserving folk culture, too.

I remember my great aunt sing "Clap, clap handies, Daddy's coming hame, pennies in his pockets for his ain wee wean" when I was two and we both clapped hands.

Wee Willie Winkie and the Lion and the Unicorn sound quite wrong to me if they aren't sung in Doric Scots!

By the sound of it he has a lovely time so I shouldn't worry too much. If you're feeling really brave (and calm!!) You could try something like collecting autumn leaves and glueing them ? onto a big sheet of paper, but he may still be a bit young for that I guess.

Grandmabatty , what a wonderful start you are giving him, you can be sure of that !!

I had a Wheels on the Bus cd when I looked after my GD and we would dance/march around the house singing and acting out the tunes She loved it and I got a bit of added exercise. Because of Covid I have not looked after her baby brother yet but now I have Alexa the ideas are boundless.

I designated one low kitchen cupboard as my boy’s. He spent happy hours with pans, Tupperware, wooden spoons etc, banging them and taking them in and out. Might work!

Grandmabatty. What you are providing already sounds perfect!
Another idea. Do you have a fence or shed? He can 'paint' it with water on a fine day.

I make 'cakes with my grandson who us nearly 2 years old. Chocolate cornflakes cakes and cake mixes. Try to keep it simple. As he gets older we will progress to proper cake making. The mixes are nice and simple for a little one and all different types with different decorations all in the packet. This week it was brownies

I used to save round pieces of card from food packaging so the we could make paper pizzas. I just used to cut tomato, pineapple, ham shapes and so on out of appropriate coloured paper and make shreds of paper for cheese so that he could stick them on.
I also kept a few empty food packets, supplemented by full tins and packets so that we could play shops.

Google Tuff trays. You can put anything out on them to follow your child's interests or to celebrate seasons or Halloween etc. i.e. if he is into dinosaurs you could put some out, then make a habitat with sticks & leaves you might find on your travels.
Lots of open ended play to feed his imagination. You could add water, stones, sand, the list is endless!