When you are a parent, you want to find activities that are fun and engaging for your toddler. You may find yourself wondering “What are the best activities for toddlers near me?” Here, we will guide you through some of the best activities for toddlers that can be found up and down the country.
Having a toddler takes a lot of work. Once they get crawling and walking, they can be off like rockets! Which, seeing as they need to be active for a large portion of the day, is a good thing but it can lead you to needing to be at rocket speed at all times too. That can be less fun when you are also having to work and do chores around the house.
Then, there is the fact that you want your toddler to be learning new things, experiencing new things and having fun.
Within this article, we will look at some of the best activities for toddlers that can be found up and down the country so you are bound to have them near you.
At Home
What is nearer to you than your own home? Okay, we understand that when you were thinking “What are the best activities for toddlers near me?” you were likely wanting something that someone else would be in charge of, like a coach or teacher but, hear us out!
Often these types of activities only happen once or twice a week so it is a really good idea to have some home activities in your arsenal. Within this section, we will look at some of the best activities you can do in the comfort of your own home.
Blowing Bubbles
This is a great activity for younger toddlers as they will be absolutely fascinated by the bubbles. They are a great version of sensory play and they will really help to keep a young toddler entertained. Whilst you are blowing the bubbles, chat with your toddler about the size, shape and colour of the bubbles.
If your toddler is older, you could let them blow the bubbles themselves. This will be fun for them and you will still be able to engage them by talking about the bubbles. Another idea would be to take turns blowing the bubbles so your toddler learns a good social skill whilst having fun.
Learning Colours
Helping them to learn colours is a really easy activity to do. All you need to do is name the colours of the toys they are playing with or the toys they pick up.
You can make it into a game by asking them to put all the red items in one box, green in another, blue in another etc.
This could also be played outside by telling them the colour of trees, flowers etc.
Reading With Your Toddler
This is another very easy activity to do with your toddler at home. Grab a picture book and read through it with your toddler, making sure to talk with them about it and the pictures they are seeing.
Reading with your toddler will help to spark their imagination and will help them to develop their listening skills. It is also a great way to bond with your toddler.
Painting And Drawing
Painting and drawing with your toddler is another easy activity you can do at home. It is a great way to engage with your toddler and to get their imagination sparking as you could ask them to decide what you are going to draw and then you draw it together.
This will help them to feel a sense of independence and accomplishment because they were the ones who got to decide what to draw. And then you get to both have fun drawing or painting your pictures.
Outside
There are many activities for toddlers that can be done in the great outdoors. Within this section, we will look at some of our favourites.
Playing With Water
Playing with water is always a fun activity for toddlers and it can be easily done in a garden and even at the local park. In the garden, you could get a bucket or paddling pool and let your toddler splash about. They could do water art, where they use the water and their fingers to draw on the ground.
If you are in a park or just outside, you could take a bottle of water to do water art or, if it’s been raining, have a lot of fun jumping in puddles.
Going To The Park
If you have a nice local park, this is a really good activity for toddlers that is near to you. If the park has a play area, your toddler could have hours of fun playing on the swings and slides.
It will also be fun for them to walk or run around on any grassy areas. If you are walking, you could point things out to them like the trees, birds, the colour of things etc. If you are running, you could take a ball and have a kickabout or a game of catch.
Drawing With Chalk
This is an oldie but a goody. We all remember making chalk art on the pavement outside our homes. Or drawing up a hopscotch grid for hours of fun.
You could get them drawing on the pavements in your garden or outside of it but, if you are outside, particularly outside your house, make sure to stay with them at all times.
If it doesn’t rain, your toddlers’ art or game will stay put for a few days so they could end up having days of fun from one simple activity.
Classes And Clubs For Toddlers
Finally, let us delve into the activities for toddlers near you that are classes and clubs run by others that your toddler can join in with.
Football
So, we might be a little biased but, truly, football is an excellent activity for your toddler. It will help with the development of their motor skills and cognitive skills. It will help them to learn social skills and how to interact with their peers in a team setting.
Along with this, it will set them up for enjoying physical activity which could lead them to having a happy healthy life. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun!
You will find many football classes all over the UK. Our Socatots classes are up and down the UK, in Ireland and in the Channel Islands.
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is another excellent activity for toddlers. From walking on balance beams to jumping on trampolines, gymnastics introduces children to controlled movement, spatial awareness, and helps to develop full-body strength. It encourages discipline, attention, perseverance, all whilst being a lot of fun.
Toddler gymnastic classes can be found all around the UK so your toddler can give it a go.
Swimming
Swimming is an excellent activity for your toddler to take part in. Many classes are parent-and-tot swim classes and your child could take part from as young as 2 months old.
Swimming will help your toddler with muscle development, lung power, gross motor skills and, on top of all of this, being able to swim is an excellent life skill to have.
If you have a swimming pool in your local area, there is bound to be some type of toddler class that your toddler can attend.
Dance
Dance classes are another brilliant activity for toddlers. Toddler dance classes focus on rhythm, movement, and self-expression and toddlers can begin them as early as 12 months in the parent and child classes.
Dance offers many benefits including improving balance and posture, enhancing coordination and body awareness, and building memory through movement patterns. It will also help your toddler to improve their flexibility, agility and balance.
There are many dance classes for toddlers and young children in the UK so we are sure you will find a dance class that is suitable for your toddler near you.
Best Activities For Toddlers Near Me
So, there you have some of the best activities for toddlers near you. Some that can be done in the comfort of your own home, some outside in the garden or park and some of the best types of classes and clubs you can take your toddler to.
We hope you have found this article helpful. If you would like to know more about our toddler football classes, please click here to find your local class.