Discovery Point Blog

December 8, 2015

11 Fun Activities For When Winter Weather Traps You Indoors

It’s freezing outside and your baby has already completed his usual circuit of activity mat, bouncy seat, and Exersaucer. With hours to go before his next nap, you need tactics to keep your wee one cooing when Old Man Winter traps you indoors. Try these fun indoor activities to pass a gray day. The time will fly!

By Sara Lippmann from American Baby

Let Her “Help” You Cook

Strap your sidekick into a high chair and narrate in a silly voice as you noodle around in the kitchen. Tickle her senses with your spice rack, offering a sniff of cinnamon and cocoa, and then black pepper, just for kicks. Let her watch you peel and core an apple, then boil it down to mush for a tasty snack. The house will fill with heavenly smells, and your petite sous chef will adore your Julia Child imitation. Got a toddler? Make pancakes and let him stir. Lindsay Dewar-Fontana, of Westport, Connecticut, loves cooking with her boys, ages 20 months and 3 years. Bonus: “They’re more willing to try any food that they’ve had a hand in!” she says.

Make Some Music

Is that Dan Zanes CD scratched from constant use? Scatter about tambourines, shakers, or whatever’s on hand (formula tins and wooden spoons will do!) and call band practice in your living room. Lorna Campbell, of Brooklyn, New York, likes to pluck at her husband’s ukelele. When she performs for her 22-month-old daughter, Alex, the little girl bounces, claps, and tries to sing along. Now, she even asks her mom for a gig by pointing and yelling, “Uke! Uke!”

Play Ball

Once your baby can sit up (at around 6 months), plop down across from him and introduce a ball between you. Let him reach and roll and transfer it between his hands; add a second ball and even a third. Tamara Abir, of Toronto, Ontario, ups the ante by making a ramp: She props an ironing board against the couch and rolls balls down it for her 21-month-old daughter, Yael, to catch.

Read Together

Snuggle up on the sofa with your baby and a good read. Infants love to listen to your voice and to be held; babies age 6 to 12 months want to mouth board books; 1-year-olds start to understand the words you’re saying as they help flip pages, according to the Children’s Reading Foundation. Dana Burger, of Vienna, Virginia, relishes board books with her 16-month-old, Avery. “We read 15 in a sitting,” she says. “Avery’s a fan of Brown Bear, Brown Bear; Mr. Brown Can Moo; and Toes, Ears & Nose. I’ve read them so often that she can fill in words for me. It’s exciting for both of us, especially when she adds a new word and claps for herself!”

Finger Paint with Food

Your kid may still think crayons are for eating, but he’s probably at the right age to “finger paint” with food. This is a messy one, but yummy! Place your baby in his high chair and spoon a dollop of yogurt on the tray. You might need to demonstrate at first, but soon your munchkin will be making blueberry-colored tracks and swirls. He’ll really eat it up!

Go For a Swim

Who says bathtime is only for night? Wash away the traces of your yogurt escapade with water play. Fill the tub with bubble bath, or blow bubbles over the tub and let him pop ’em. Toss in a few toys in need of a clean (that set of plastic food?) and you’ve got one less thing to do later.

Make it a Laundry Day

Staring down a mountain of laundry? Let your tot help you “sort” whites and darks. Later, enlist your li’l guy to “fold” the clean clothes as you work beside him. “Beckett has a blast sifting through a basket of laundry,” Lauren Durazo, of San Francisco, says. “I fold a T-shirt and place it next to him. When he unfolds it, I say ‘Oh no!’ with both my hands on my cheeks. He thinks it’s just the most hilarious thing.”

Look into the Mirror

Your sweetpea is not lacking when it comes to vanity! Place her on her tummy with an unbreakable toy mirror facing her to encourage her to push up. You can also carry your baby from room to room so she can check herself out in wall mirrors. Touch her eyes, nose, and so on as you look together so she will begin to identify her features in the glass. As she gets older, you can dress her up in colorful capes and sunglasses — Lady Gaga’s got nothing on your little girl!

Let Her “Help” You Clean

It’s a fact of babyhood: No matter how many toys a kid has, he’ll prefer a broom. From the time he was a year old, Jesse Rosenthal, now 2, has loved to clean. As his mother, Nikki, dusts and sweeps, he toddles behind her, trailing his toy vacuum cleaner, broom, and dustpan. “One of his first words was ‘Psst! Psst!’ for the sound a spray bottle makes,” says the New York City mom. Give your baby a dishrag and plastic bottle filled with water, and let him spritz and wipe the kitchen floor for some good, clean fun.

Build a Maze

Got an adventure-seeking crawler? Transform your living room into a baby-proofed labyrinth. Arrange plenty of sofa pillows and chairs with blankets draped over them, fort-style, throw in a collapsible tube tunnel (IKEA sells one for $20), and let your intrepid explorer roam! When she finally tuckers herself out, take a cue from your cutie: Dive under your covers together and cuddle.

Juggle Scarves

Zero time to accessorize these days? Use your scarves to play instead. Toss them high; your baby will love to watch them dance in the air and catch the light as they fall. Blow on them to keep them airborne, and brush them along your child’s skin — silky!