Things to do with an 18 month old at home

What 18 months is like

An 18 month old is usually walking, often climbing, and very keen on moving things from one place to another. They tip out boxes, post things through gaps, carry objects across the room and drop them, then go back for more. It looks like chaos. It is actually the whole activity, and the easiest way to fill a morning at home is to give them something to move that you do not mind being moved.

Attention comes in short bursts at this age. Five minutes on one thing is good going. So the trick is not one brilliant activity but half a dozen quick ones you can set up in a minute and pack away in another.

Carrying, tipping and posting

Roll up a pile of socks and put them in a laundry basket. That is it. They will carry the socks out, put them back, tip the basket over and start again. Cut a hole in the lid of an empty tissue box and give them a few scarves to pull through and stuff back in. Roll the side of a cereal box into a wide tube, tape it to the wall at their height and let them post large pom-poms or rolled-up socks through it into a bowl below. Anything that fits through a toilet paper tube is too small to post.

A laundry basket with a few soft toys in it becomes a wagon. Push it across the floor, pull it back, put the toys in, take the toys out. Every part of that is the activity.

Joining in with real jobs

At 18 months, helping is the best game there is. Give them a damp cloth and let them wipe the table after lunch, badly. Let them put the toys in the bin at tidying-up time, one at a time, with a lot of announcing. A spoon and two bowls with a handful of dry cereal to transfer from one to the other keeps them at the table while you finish your own food.

Nothing here needs to be done well. The point is that they were included, and you got five minutes.

Moving about

When the carrying wears thin, lay a line of cushions across the floor and walk it together, hands held. Put music on and give them a scarf to wave. Take the cushions off the sofa and let them climb on and off. Ten minutes of that and they are usually ready for a snack and something quieter. The activities below cover all of this, each with its own steps and a switch-up for next time.

Try this together

Sock Ball Basket from 16 months · 5-10 min Scarf Pull Tube from 12 months · 5-10 min Wide Tube Post from 14 months · 5-10 min Laundry Basket Haul from 14 months · 20-35 min Wipe The Table from 16 months · 20-30 min Spoon Transfer from 18 months · 5-10 min Put Toys in the Bin from 14 months · 5-10 min Pillow Path Walk from 14 months · 5-10 min

More play guides

Rainy day activities for toddlers at home Pick one big-movement idea and one sit-down idea. That covers most of a wet afternoon. Screen-free activities for 2 year olds At two, the best screen-free activities are real jobs: pouring, sorting, carrying, stirring. Activities for 1 year olds at home At one, everything is about touching, banging, tipping and watching your face.