40 Screen-Free Activities for Toddlers (12 Months to 3 Years)

The best screen-free activities for toddlers are ones that match their natural developmental urges — pouring, stacking, dumping, filling, tearing, squishing, and climbing. Toddlers aged 12 months to 3 years do not need elaborate setups or expensive toys. They need safe access to interesting materials and the freedom to explore them without constant direction. The 40 activities in this guide are organized by developmental category so you can choose activities that build the specific skills your child is working on right now, from sensory processing and fine motor control to gross motor coordination and creative expression.

Before You Start: Setting Up for Success

Toddler activities work best when you prepare the environment rather than manage the child. Here is how to make screen-free play sustainable rather than exhausting.

Rotate materials. Put out three to four activities at a time and swap them every few days. Toddlers lose interest in familiar setups but will play enthusiastically with the same activity reintroduced after a week away.

Embrace the mess. Lay down a plastic tablecloth, old shower curtain, or towels. Strip the toddler down to a diaper for messy activities. The faster you accept that mess is part of the process, the more both of you will enjoy these activities.

Step back. Set up the activity, show the materials briefly, then let your toddler explore independently. Resist the urge to demonstrate or correct. There is no wrong way to play with sensory rice.

Time it right. Offer activities when your toddler is well-rested and fed. Right after a nap and snack is the sweet spot. Avoid introducing new activities when they are already overtired or hungry.

Sensory Play Activities (10 Ideas)

Sensory play is the foundation of toddler learning. Every texture, temperature, and material teaches the brain something new about the world. For even more ideas, see our full guide to sensory play ideas for preschoolers.

1. Rainbow Rice Bin

Ages 12 months+ | Dye rice with food coloring and vinegar, let it dry, and pour it into a large bin. Add cups, scoops, funnels, and small toys. Toddlers will pour, scoop, and run their hands through it endlessly. This is the single most reliable toddler activity in existence.

2. Water Transfer Station

Ages 14 months+ | Set two bowls side by side with a sponge, turkey baster, or small cup. Fill one with water. Let your toddler transfer water between bowls. Add food coloring for visual interest. Expect water on the floor. If your toddler loves this, our full list of water play activities for toddlers has 15 more setups to try.

3. Cooked Spaghetti Play

Ages 12 months+ | Cook a pot of spaghetti, let it cool, and dump it on a tray. Toddlers love squishing, pulling, and tearing it. Add a few drops of food coloring to the cooking water for colored noodles. This is fully taste-safe for children who still mouth everything.

4. Cloud Dough

Ages 18 months+ | Mix 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of baby oil or vegetable oil. The result is a moldable, crumbly dough that holds its shape when packed but crumbles when poked. Add cookie cutters and small cups.

5. Ice Block Excavation

Ages 15 months+ | Freeze small toys in a large block of ice using a bowl or muffin tin. Give your toddler warm water in a squeeze bottle and salt to melt the ice and free the toys. This holds attention for a remarkably long time.

6. Shaving Cream Painting

Ages 18 months+ | Spray shaving cream on a highchair tray or table. Let your toddler spread, swirl, and draw in it. Add a few drops of food coloring for color mixing. Supervise to prevent eating — this is not taste-safe.

7. Dried Bean Bin

Ages 18 months+ (past the mouthing stage) | Fill a bin with dried beans and add scoops, dump trucks, and containers. The weight and sound of beans pouring is deeply satisfying for toddlers. Supervise closely as beans are a choking hazard.

8. Jello Dig

Ages 12 months+ | Make a large batch of jello in a baking pan with small toys pressed inside. Once set, let your toddler dig through the jello to find the toys. Fully taste-safe and incredibly fun.

9. Sand and Water Table

Ages 12 months+ | You do not need a formal water table. A plastic storage bin with sand on one side and water on the other works perfectly. Add cups, shovels, and small buckets. This is an outdoor activity unless you enjoy vacuuming sand.

10. Texture Walk

Ages 14 months+ | Tape different textures to the floor in a line — bubble wrap, aluminum foil, a wet towel, sandpaper, fake fur, a yoga mat. Let your toddler walk barefoot across each one. Name the textures as they step.

Fine Motor Activities (8 Ideas)

Fine motor activities strengthen the small muscles in hands and fingers that children need for writing, buttoning, zipping, and self-feeding.

11. Pom-Pom Pushing

Ages 14 months+ | Cut a slit in the lid of a container. Give your toddler pom-poms to push through the slit. This simple activity builds pincer grasp and hand-eye coordination. A whisk and pom-poms also work — push them in, pull them out.

12. Sticker Peeling

Ages 18 months+ | Give your toddler a sheet of large stickers and a piece of paper. Peeling stickers off the sheet and pressing them onto paper requires precise finger control. Start with dot stickers — they are easier to peel.

13. Threading Pasta

Ages 2+ | Stick a piece of playdough on the table with a skewer or pipe cleaner standing upright. Give your toddler large tube pasta (rigatoni or penne) to thread onto the stick. This is an early version of bead threading.

14. Clothespin Clipping

Ages 2+ | Give your toddler spring-type clothespins and a cardboard box or paper plate to clip them onto. This builds hand strength needed for scissors and writing. Start with loose clothespins and work toward clipping onto edges.

15. Tearing Paper

Ages 14 months+ | Give your toddler old magazines, newspaper, or tissue paper to tear. Tearing paper uses bilateral coordination (both hands working together) and is deeply satisfying. Glue the torn pieces onto contact paper for a collage.

16. Pouring Practice

Ages 18 months+ | Give your toddler a small pitcher with dried rice or lentils and several small cups. Let them practice pouring from pitcher to cup. Start with dry materials before graduating to water. This is a classic Montessori practical life activity.

17. Playdough Squishing

Ages 15 months+ | Homemade playdough (flour, salt, water, cream of tartar, oil) is taste-safe and cheap to make in bulk. Give your toddler the dough with cookie cutters, a rolling pin, and plastic knives. Squishing, rolling, and cutting builds hand strength.

18. Dropping Objects into Containers

Ages 12 months+ | Gather containers with different sized openings — a coffee can, a water bottle, a tissue box. Give your toddler objects that fit through each opening — balls, blocks, large coins. Matching object to opening is a genuine cognitive challenge at this age.

Gross Motor Activities (8 Ideas)

Toddlers need to move their bodies constantly. These activities channel that energy productively.

19. Pillow Mountain Climbing

Ages 12 months+ | Stack couch cushions and pillows into a mountain. Let your toddler climb up and tumble down. This builds core strength, balance, and spatial awareness. Stay close for spotting but let them navigate independently.

20. Tunnel Crawling

Ages 12 months+ | Line up chairs and drape a blanket over them to create a tunnel. Place a toy or flashlight at the far end as motivation. Crawling through tunnels builds upper body strength and body awareness.

21. Ball Pit in a Kiddie Pool

Ages 12 months+ | Fill an inflatable kiddie pool or large cardboard box with plastic balls. Toddlers will climb in, throw balls, bury themselves, and practice standing on an unstable surface. This builds balance and coordination.

22. Dance Party

Ages 12 months+ | Put on music and dance together. No instruction needed — just move. Toddlers naturally bounce, spin, and sway. Introduce simple movements like stomping, clapping, and jumping. This is the easiest gross motor activity available.

23. Indoor Bowling

Ages 15 months+ | Stack empty water bottles or cardboard boxes. Give your toddler a ball to roll and knock them down. Set them up again. Repeat forty times. This builds arm strength and hand-eye coordination.

24. Laundry Basket Push

Ages 12 months+ | Put stuffed animals or toys in a laundry basket and let your toddler push it across the floor. This is heavy work that provides proprioceptive input — the deep pressure input that helps toddlers regulate their bodies and emotions.

25. Tape Line Walking

Ages 18 months+ | Put a line of painter's tape on the floor. Challenge your toddler to walk along it without stepping off. Make it straight for beginners, then try curves and zigzags. This builds balance and concentration.

26. Balloon Batting

Ages 15 months+ | Blow up a balloon and let your toddler bat it in the air. Balloons move slowly enough for toddlers to track and hit successfully. This builds hand-eye coordination and is active play without the risk of breaking anything.

Creative Activities (7 Ideas)

Creative activities for toddlers focus on process, not product. The goal is exploration, not a Pinterest-worthy result.

27. Finger Painting

Ages 12 months+ | Use washable finger paint on a highchair tray, large paper, or directly on the bathtub wall during bath time. Let your toddler spread, smear, and mix colors without any template or expected outcome.

28. Contact Paper Collage

Ages 14 months+ | Tape a piece of clear contact paper sticky-side-out to a wall or table. Give your toddler torn paper, fabric scraps, leaves, feathers, and pom-poms to stick on. This is self-adhesive art — no glue needed.

29. Crayon Scribbling

Ages 14 months+ | Tape a large piece of paper to the table or floor and offer chunky crayons or beeswax crayons. Toddler art is about the motor experience of making marks, not drawing recognizable pictures. Every scribble is valid.

30. Stamping with Objects

Ages 18 months+ | Dip everyday objects in washable paint and press them onto paper — toilet paper rolls, bottle caps, sponges cut into shapes, cookie cutters, or halved fruits and vegetables. Stamping is easier than painting for toddlers because it requires only a pressing motion.

31. Dot Marker Art

Ages 18 months+ | Dot markers (bingo daubers) are perfect for toddlers because they require only a pressing motion and produce satisfying results. Give your toddler blank paper or printed dot marker pages and let them stamp away.

32. Cardboard Box Play

Ages 12 months+ | Give your toddler a large cardboard box. They will get in, get out, push it, sit in it, draw on it, and turn it into a car, a house, or a boat. A large box is genuinely one of the best toddler toys available.

33. Musical Instrument Exploration

Ages 12 months+ | Make instruments from household items — a pot and wooden spoon drum, a container filled with rice as a shaker, rubber bands stretched over a box as a guitar. Let your toddler bang, shake, and strum without worrying about noise.

Practical Life Activities (7 Ideas)

Toddlers desperately want to participate in real adult tasks. These activities channel that drive while building independence and fine motor skills.

34. Sweeping with a Child-Sized Broom

Ages 18 months+ | Give your toddler a small broom and dustpan. They will not sweep effectively, and that is fine. The motion of sweeping builds bilateral coordination, and participating in household work builds a sense of belonging.

35. Washing Vegetables

Ages 15 months+ | Set your toddler up at the sink with a step stool. Give them potatoes, carrots, or apples to scrub with a small brush under running water. This is a real contribution to meal preparation and toddlers take it seriously.

36. Wiping Tables and Surfaces

Ages 14 months+ | Give your toddler a damp cloth and let them wipe the table, highchair, or low shelves. They will wipe in circles and miss most spots, but the motion develops arm strength and they feel genuinely helpful.

37. Sorting Laundry

Ages 18 months+ | Let your toddler help sort laundry by color, by family member, or by type (socks vs. shirts). They can also match sock pairs. This builds categorization skills, color recognition, and a sense of contribution.

38. Transferring with Tongs

Ages 2+ | Put pom-poms, cotton balls, or large pasta in one bowl and give your toddler kitchen tongs to transfer them to another bowl. This builds the same hand muscles needed for scissors and writing while mimicking adult cooking tasks.

39. Watering Plants

Ages 15 months+ | Give your toddler a small watering can and show them how to water houseplants or garden plants. They will overwater everything at first. Use a can that only holds a small amount of water to limit the flooding.

40. Mixing and Stirring

Ages 14 months+ | During cooking, give your toddler a bowl with a small amount of ingredients to stir — dry oats, flour and water, or salad ingredients. Use a sturdy spoon and a heavy bowl that will not tip. They are genuinely helping with meal preparation, which builds confidence and independence.

Building a Screen-Free Routine

The key to sustainable screen-free days with a toddler is not having 40 activities prepared. It is rotating three to four activities throughout the day, interspersed with meals, outdoor time, and ordinary household involvement.

A realistic screen-free toddler day might look like this: breakfast together, help wiping the table, 20 minutes of sensory play, outdoor time, lunch, nap, playdough or art activity, a walk, help with dinner preparation, bath time, books, bed. That is not 40 activities — it is five or six, with transitions and real life filling the gaps.

The goal is not perfection. Some days screens happen. What matters is that screen-free play is the default rather than the exception, and that your toddler has regular access to materials that match their developmental needs. When the environment is set up well, toddlers will entertain themselves far more than most parents expect.