Keeping kids of any age busy during the day can be a challenge. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, finding new and exciting ways to keep kids entertained while staying home became more complex.

Get ahead of boredom and frustration by developing quiet-time activities to keep your kids busy anytime, anywhere. We recommend sitting down with your older children to brainstorm ideas for independent activities. Taking the time to communicate with your child or teen about potential activities allows both of you to have realistic expectations, and an opportunity to talk through boundaries and consequences in a neutral setting.

This time together will help them feel heard and in control of this aspect of their life. You can take the suggestions you brainstorm together and place them into a jar or container, so when your child is bored, they can visit the activities jar to pull out an activity.

When you are out of ideas or if your kids are a little too young to help brainstorm ideas, take a few suggestions off of our list of 10 low-cost, independent, and quiet-time activities for kids.

Game Box

Collect age-appropriate items that are great for independent play, such as coloring supplies, puzzles, cards, fidget toys. When you need some quiet time or when your child complains of boredom, you can pull out the game box, and they have the freedom to choose an activity on their own.

As your child gets older, you can adjust this box, adding items like brain puzzles (word search, sudoku, crossword puzzles, etc.), books, etc. As a bonus activity, encourage your child to decorate their game box with stickers, coloring supplies, and other fun items! Help them feel like this box is truly theirs to enjoy.

Draw Cartoons

Skip the TV and cut down on screen time by asking your kids to create cartoons! All you need is paper, coloring supplies, and a prompt! You could sit down and write out a collection of prompts to draw from randomly, or you could come up with a prompt on the spot. Ask your child to draw a cartoon of things like:

• A story about a good guy and a bad guy
• A story about a family member
• A story about an animal
• A story about something they did recently

Giving your child space to create a story will help you better understand how their mind works and how they see the world while encouraging them to express themselves and tell a story their way.

Create

Creative activities are a great way to keep your kids working quietly on their own. A collection of Legos, playdough, building blocks, puzzles, sticker art, or art supplies will keep your kids busy for a while.

When they seem uninterested in just working on their own, you can commission them to create art for a family member or friend or encourage them to build something for one of their toys. When they feel like they are working on something important and meaningful, kids will put more energy and effort into their creative work.

Journaling & Story Writing

As your kids reach an age where they can write independently, you can encourage them to keep journals of things they do each day or write stories based on their pets, toys, friends, and family.

Teaching your kids to journal at a young age can help them process their emotions and give them something to reflect on their childhood later in life. Storytelling can also help them develop their processing skills and encourage their creative expression.

See the World Through Their Eyes

Grab a disposable camera at the gas station, dig out your old digital camera, and let your child capture images during a trip or on a typical day. Once you develop the film or print the photos, you can give them a notebook and glue or tape to organize their pictures.

Getting creative with a camera could unlock a hidden talent or lifelong hobby for your child! Mailing some of these photos to family members and friends is a great way to stay connected over long distances.

Design a Scavenger Hunt

Choose a topic or category and encourage your kid to find related items, like finding things that start with each alphabet letter, animals, colors, etc. Games like this can take place indoors or outdoors and can even involve the whole family.

Another great way to use a disposable or digital camera is to encourage your kid to take photos of scavenger hunt items. You can develop the film or print the pictures and glue them into notebooks to capture the memories.

Creating a safe world of wonder and adventure around your kid is a component of the first step of Triple P’s 5 Steps to Positive Parenting: creating a safe, interesting environment. Keeping your teenagers and children interested and engaged in their daily life will help fight boredom and the trouble that sometimes follows boredom.

Plan a Treasure Hunt

Choose a small piece of treasure from around the house to hide, like a coin, a small toy, or something small and shiny, and give your kid a clue to the hiding spot. Let them enjoy the fun of trying to find their treasure, but have a few extra clues ready if they don’t find it on the first clue.

Create an Obstacle Course

Indoors or outdoors, you can use all kinds of items to build an obstacle course! Encourage your kids to develop their course or take a few minutes to get them started with your design.

Indoors, you can lay down pillows as stepping stones, blankets or towels as water/lava to avoid, or even tape thread or string to the walls in patterns like laser beams to climb around!

Outdoors, you can use pieces of wood to walk along like a beam, tires to jump in and out of, and even incorporate any outdoor toys or playground equipment.

Get creative with your kids on these obstacle courses and encourage them to create their versions of obstacle courses.

Help Your Kids Read On Their Own

Checking out books from your local library is a great way to provide free entertainment for kids of all ages. Even when your kids are not ready to read independently or aren’t strong readers, you can find audiobook versions of books and let them flip through the physical book while the audiobook reads to them.

Introducing audiobooks will help create a positive learning experience, especially if independent reading is a challenge. Facilitating a positive learning environment is an essential component in Triple P’s 5 Steps to Positive Parenting.

Host Playdates

When you need some time to yourself, partnering with a friend or family member to host playdates is a great way to trade childcare. You can get this ball rolling by reaching out to a parent with a child around your kid’s age and inviting both the parent and child over for a playdate. A playdate is a wonderful way to help your child develop social skills but also allows you to create a support network.

As a parent, we know that it is essential to build your community. Step five of Triple P’s five steps to positive parenting is to take care of yourself as a parent. Community allows you to breathe a little easier knowing that you are not trying to figure out this whole parenting thing on your own. Take advantage of local resources and build relationships with other parents to help you stay encouraged in your parenting journey.

Quiet-Time Activities for Young Children (9 months to 18 months)

If you have little ones in the home that aren’t quite up to the task of brainstorming, do not worry. Here are a few ideas that would work for them as well.

• Reading
• Activity Table
• Push or Walker Toys
• Water Table
• Musical Instruments
• Imitating
• Sorting
• Organizing
• Introducing Your Baby to Themself in the Mirror
• Drawing with Crayons
• Dancing to Music
• Imitating Expressions
• Sock Puppet Show
• Sing a Song with Clapping and Thumping
• Straws in an Empty, Plastic Water Bottle
• Stamps

For infants, incorporate tummy time with interesting and safe items around the baby. Cloth books in black and white are great as babies are better captivated but contrasting colors at this age. Tactile/sensory balls, bubble machines, an activity board with buttons to push, things to open (velcro), or a child-safe mirror are other great options. You can also play music during tummy time and add a mobile to your baby’s play space.

Want even more ideas? Check out this article!