As a toddler mom, I know how family friendly activities can make your day. Toddlers are so full of life and energy, and loves to come on adventures. But sometimes it’s hard to come up with ideas of what to do, to keep your toddlers entertained, but also keep your sanity in place. In this post I’ve gathered 5 of my favorite activities for families with toddlers.
1. Go for a hike.
The hiking backpacks with a seat for toddlers are absolutely amazing when you go for a long hike that little legs have a hard time finishing. But I love to take my kid on hikes with the intention that she gets to walk and explore. Find a beautiful trail and let your toddler run around, pick up sticks, stop to play with rocks and listen to the different sounds. Enjoy the surroundings, take the time to have some great conversation with your partner while your toddler gets to just roam around. Drop the goal of finishing the hike and let that toddler walk. Not every hike has to be a finished lap!
2. Bring your canvas outside.
Most toddlers love to explore different kinds of drawing and painting. So why not doing it in a new setting. Bring big sheets of paper, a big canvas or a cut up diaper box outside, along with some paint and make an activity out of it. Use finger paint, brushes, or why not some cut out potato stamps. This could be a great family activity that boost everyones creativity.
3. Go pick strawberries / blueberries / whatever berries.
There’s a few farms around that lets you fill up your own bucket of.. whatever that farm offers – such as strawberries, blueberries, pumpkins, and so on and so forth. This is SO much fun, and you’ll get the freshest possible batch of chosen crop. And, your kids gets to see where the food comes from!
4. Explore a new park.
There are tons of zoos, museums, amusement parks etc around Los Angeles, and those are amazing. But I love to appreciate the free activities around as well. Every now and then I look around google maps for new parks and playgrounds to explore. Yes, I know, we take our kids to the park daily, but do we go to the same parks over and over? Also yes. Look around for new parks and playgrounds, some are AMAZING and keeps your toddler busy for hours. Prepare a picnic with some delicious food, head out and spend a few hours playing together and having lunch outdoors on a blanket. Going to the park the whole family is so much fun for the kids, but also a time to reconnect as a family.
5. Do a BBQ in a new setting.
BBQs might sound just like your everyday backyard dinner routine, but bring it to a new place! I love taking my family for a bbq in nature. I especially like Malibu Creek, they have a great area where you can bbq and the kids can roam around. Eating in nature is for some reason always tastier than eating at home, in my opinion. And everyone gets to enjoy the outdoors.
These are a few of my favorite activities that my toddler loves coming along at. They are all outdoor activities, but I love to go outdoors. I feel like the outdoors magically sets my kid in a happier and more cooperative state of mind. And we all get a better night sleep after a day spent outside, right? And the best part, after you’ve spent your whole day outside, you get to come home and crawl up on the couch together, in front of a movie.
