How to Entertain Your Toddler While Working From Home

Working from home is a dream for many parents.

You don’t need to worry about the hassle and expense of daycare, there’s no stressful commute, and you definitely get to spend more time with your kids.

While it undoubtedly has many perks, that’s not to say it’s always easy. If you have young toddlers at home, juggling work and watching your child can be nothing short of stressful.

It might be difficult at times, but it isn’t impossible to work from home with toddlers. With the right supplies, you can entertain your toddler while working from home so that he stays out of trouble and has fun while you get some work done.

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Tips to Help You Get Started

It can be overwhelming to think that you can actually work from home and parent a toddler at the same time.

I know how difficult it can be. I also know that it’s possible.

As a work-at-home mom for the past ten years, I’ve successfully managed to keep my four children healthy, happy, and alive through their toddler years while running my freelance writing business.

Along the way, I’ve figured out a few tips and tricks to make working from home with a young child a little easier. Here is some advice to help ease the process:

• Don’t feel bad about using screens – It’s wonderful to try and keep your toddler off screens as much as possible, and it’s definitely something I strive to do. However, don’t be afraid to take advantage of the screen if you truly need help. Don’t beat yourself up over this. You’re a busy working parent who’s juggling a lot. While I do try and limit my toddler’s TV time, I know that if I need to put something on to keep him occupied while I work, I will do it.
• Keep these items separate and special – You want your toddler to be excited about the items you’re going to use to occupy her while you work. This means you shouldn’t just stock the playroom with supplies she can play with at any time. Instead, treat your work time like a special occasion, and pull out a “new” activity or two every time you need to entertain her.
• Think of this as an investment – Much in the same way that you purchase supplies for your office or invest in your job training, you may want to spend money on different items to entertain your toddler. Unless you have an overabundance of toys at home already, your child probably won’t be excited and motivated by things you already have. If you’re on a budget, look for cheap or used items at secondhand shops and thrift stores. Many people are willing to sell the toddler toys that they no longer use or need for a fraction of the cost of new items.

How to Entertain Your Toddler While You Work From Home

I’ve acquired these tips through lots of years of experience. I know what it’s like to juggle the demands of a young child when you’ve got a deadline to meet.

As a result, all of these ideas for toddler activities encourage independence in an effort to allow you to get some work done. This means you won’t find any complex activities on this list. If it’s anything that requires intense attention or preparation on the part of mom or dad, it won’t be on the list.

Ideally, you’ll be able to be in the same room (or very close by) and doing your work while your toddler is working on his activity. (These are toddlers we are talking about after all, so some kind of supervision will definitely be necessary!).

These suggestions are all picked because they can be done independently for many toddlers, but use your best judgment. Toddlers are all vastly different when it comes to development and ability, so not all suggestions here will work for some toddlers. Still, there should be at least a few things on this list that help keep your child occupied so that you can get some work one.

Consider one of these top suggestions to entertain your child while you work from home.

A Tablet

If you don’t mind the screens, there are a wealth of things that your child can do while you’re working. Many of them are educational, which is a bonus!

I really don’t like the idea of my toddler on a device for too long of a time, so I save the Kindle for only those times when I need to really focus on my work.

While there are several kid-friendly tablets out there, the Kindle Fire HD 8 Kids Edition wins hands down. This device is best for toddlers, thanks to the following features:

• Colorful, kid-proof case with built-in stand
• 1 year of Free-Time Unlimited, which offers access to over 20,000 apps, games, videos, educational content, and audiobooks that are all kid-friendly.
• 2-year warranty (if it breaks, they’ll replace it for free)

The 1-year included Free-Time Unlimited is a huge bonus when it comes to providing kid-friendly content. You can also filter by age to find more appropriate content for your child.

Create a Dress-Up Box

Most kids love to dress up. Keep a box on hand full of all kinds of costumes, outfits, or old clothes. Dress up encourages imagination and pretend play.

Like many of the other suggestions, this is a great one to pull out only when you need to get work done. This makes it fun and unique for your toddler, and they’ll be more willing to play when you want them to.

Use Puzzles

Most toddlers love puzzles, but in order for these to be a good entertaining option so that you can get work done, you need to evaluate your toddler’s individual skill level.

It’s important to choose those puzzles that your child can do independently, without your assistance.

Melissa and Doug has many toddler-friendly options available. To keep your child interested in puzzles, I’ve found it helps to keep the majority stashed away where little hands can’t find them. I put one or two in the playroom and then rotate them every few weeks to keep them fresh and fun for toddlers.  

Painting Supplies

Painting is very much a your-mileage-may-vary activity.

Some parents don’t mind it at all, while others loathe to hand over the paintbrush. Likewise, some toddlers can handle this activity independently, while others are a little messier.

If you are comfortable with the idea, keep an easel and some washable paints on hand.

To make the activity a little more fun, try dot painting with q-tips or sponge painting in addition to the traditional paintbrush.

Water Play

Most toddlers love water play. Depending on your level of mess tolerance, this could be something as simple as playing in the sink or a bucket of water with some cups while you work nearby.

If you’re like me and do not have that level of mess tolerance, there are alternatives. This large water doodle mat encourages fun water play and creativity without the mess.

Building Blocks

Blocks can be a great way to entertain your toddler while working from home. They check all the boxes – easy enough for your little one to play with on his own, difficult enough to keep him occupied for a long time, and educational.

Opt for traditional Duplo blocks, or go for something a little more fun and intriguing, like these Smarkids Building Blocks.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks can be a fantastic resource for keeping kids quiet and occupied for extended periods of time.

I never would have believed this to be true if I hadn’t experienced it for myself. One way to keep toddlers occupied with an audiobook is to put in on while they are doing another sit-down activity, like coloring or blocks.

One of the easiest ways to play audiobooks from home is through an Audible subscription. Audible offers many books for all ages, and they have things broken down by age on their website so it’s easy to search for stories that fall within your toddler’s level.

Coloring

Coloring may seem like a basic toddler activity, but not when you break out the big guns.

What are the big guns?

Giant coloring books, a doodle mat, or wall posters are all enjoyable and toddler-friendly. Combine something like this with some fun coloring crayons, like these Crayola Silly Scents Gel Crayons.

Worried that your toddler doesn’t quite understand that coloring only belongs on paper? Save your walls and your sanity with the Crayola Color Wonder line, which utilizes special markers which only work on their corresponding paper.

Kinetic Sand

Take the fun of the sandbox and bring it indoors with kinetic sand.

A cross between playdoh and beach sand, kinetic sand is squishy, moldable, and stretchable. It’s the perfect tactile toy for little fingers. Add measuring cups, a roller, or cookie cutters to make it fun for your toddler.

Busy Bins

Busy bins are just what they sound like – bins to keep your toddler occupied and busy while you’re working from home.

Create your own busy bins using items you already have around the house. I like to take clear plastic Tupperware containers and fill them with various sensory and tactile items.

One might include beans, another macaroni noodles, and another buttons (just make sure to consider any choking hazards for your child).

Within these bins, place items that your child can use to scoop, dump, or pour. You can also add things like pipe cleaners or yarn for stringing macaroni.

Playdoh  

A tub or two of playdoh and some cookie cutters or playdoh toys can buy you a good chunk of time to get work done.

Some moms like to make their own, but if you’re looking for cheap and easy it really is worth it to buy from the store, as the brand kind comes in bright colors and is soft and easy to work with.

A Trampoline