Cooking hobbies for toddlers

10 Hobbies for Toddlers That You Can Start Right Now

Looking for the best hobbies for toddlers?

Hobbies are an important part of our lives, no matter how old we are. We tend to naturally develop hobbies as we grow up, however, there are many benefits when it comes to getting your toddler interested in a hobby, including:

 

  • Bonding time between you and your toddler
  • Stimulating cognitive development
  • Developing fine motor skills
  • A form of self expression and exploration
  • Opportunity to make new friends and develop interpersonal skills
  • Nurturing emotional growth and good mental health
  • Building confidence skills

 

With that said, let’s take a look at some hobby ideas for young children.

 

How To Choose Hobbies For Toddlers

Before you consider which hobbies to introduce to your child, you’ll need to think about a few things.

Firstly, you’ll need to examine their current interests. Is your little one curious when you’re in the kitchen making dinner? Well, cooking and baking might be their calling!

Additionally, if there are any particular areas that you feel your child needs to develop, try to factor this into your decision making, as hobbies can be an effective way to boost your child’s skills and development.

The key is to remember that hobbies should be an enjoyable activity for your children. Allow them to have fun and express themselves. 

If your child shows signs of not enjoying an activity, why not try adapting it slightly or introduce something new from our list of hobbies for toddlers below..

 

10 Hobbies for Toddlers That You Can Start Right Now

Finding hobby ideas for children isn’t always easy, but we have rounded up some simple hobbies to get you started.

 

  • Get Creative with Scrapbooking

If you haven’t heard of scrapbooking, it’s a simply about collating images or different art mediums onto one page to create a collage. So an arts and crafts project that will be a lot of fun for your child!

The best part about scrapbooking is that you can use just about anything. Does your toddler love dinosaurs? Get them a dinosaur magazine and they’ll have so much fun tearing their favourite images out to create a unique piece of art.

Or, go down a more sentimental route and print out some nice memories for your toddler to use in their scrapbook. 

Either way, this is a creative way for your toddler to unleash their imagination!

Scrapbooking hobby for toddlers

 

  • Ignite a Love For Nature with Gardening

Gardening is perfect for those toddlers who love outdoor activities. Your little one will become more curious about nature, and it introduces them to the importance of nurturing and having patience.

To get your toddler engaged, why not let them pick out what they want to plant. This could be anything from flowers to vegetables. For some inspiration, here are 5 gardening activities for toddlers.

Be sure to stimulate their senses; ask them what they can see, smell, hear and feel. Importantly, always keep your child away from any toxic plants.

Gardening hobby for toddlers

 

  • Get Super Flexible with Yoga

There are many benefits to toddler yoga; it improves their balance and coordination skills, builds strength and develops flexibility. Not only this, but it is an excellent way for your toddler to regulate their emotions and explore self expression.

This hobby is a great example of something you can do together. A quick search on YouTube will present you with lots of parent-child yoga to do in the comfort of your own home.

Yoga hobby for toddlers

 

  • Enjoy Tasty Food with Cooking and Baking

An effective way to introduce new foods to fussy eaters, ignite their curiosity, and develop their taste buds is through cooking and baking.

The best way to integrate this hobby into your toddler’s day is to let them help you out with making their meals. They’ll enjoy whisking, mixing, crushing, sieving and more. We advise that an adult handles any hot food or sharp tools for now.

Cooking hobby idea for children

 

  • Channel Their Inner Van Gogh with Painting

Painting is a fun way for children to express themselves and develop their creativity, which is a key element of early-stage development.

Begin with finger painting and progress them onto using a paintbrush to develop their fine motor skills.

A super engaging activity for your little one to try is mixing paints. Set out the primary colours (red, blue and yellow), and have your child mix them together to see what colours they can create.

We highly recommend using tempera paint for your toddler, as it is easy to clean, dries fast and won’t crack or flake. Ensure that it is water-based, non-toxic and non-settling to ensure it is safe for your child’s skin.

 

  • Maintain Interesting Items with Collecting

Collecting is a fantastic opportunity to teach your child about identifying similarities in objects and developing their counting skills. It’s also a great way to stimulate their sensory development by exploring colours and textures.

They might decide to collect things such as rocks, penny coins, toys, stamps or stickers.

Collecting hobby for toddlers

 

  • Learn About The World with Reading

Allow your child to ignite their imagination through books. It’s the perfect way for them to develop their reading and writing skills whilst learning about the world around them.

Depending on their age, you can read to them and get them involved by acting scenes out from the book. Or, encourage them to read some of the words or describe the pictures.

To get your toddler interested in reading, start with books about something they love. For example, if your child loves animals, Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is a great choice. 

Reading hobby idea for children

 

  • Splash Around with Water Play Classes

Introducing your toddler to the water at a young age, whether it’s for swimming lessons or some parent-child water activities, can help to get them more comfortable in the water.

With this hobby, your child will learn a valuable life skill whilst getting active. It is also a wonderful way to bond with your child and create special memories.

Swimming hobby for children

 

  • Get Active with Soft Play

Soft play is the perfect way to introduce your child to other children. This will build their social skills and enhance their emotional development through their interactions, such as dealing with conflict and other children’s emotions.

Soft play is also another hobby that will contribute to the development of your child. Through activities such as running, jumping and climbing, your child will boost their gross motor skills.

Soft play hobby for toddlers

 

  • Release Energy with Dancing

Whether you enrol them in a dance class or clear a space in the living room, dancing is a fun way to release some energy, be silly and have some fun.

For more structured lessons such as ballet or jazz, it can help with their hand to eye coordination, concentration and memory.

Dancing hobby idea for children

 

10 Hobbies for Toddlers: Summary

 

Developing Hobbies For Toddlers At Maryam’s Nursery

Each child’s personal growth and development is at the heart of everything that we do here at Maryam’s. 

With a community-based approach, we tailor our activities to suit every child; nurturing them and encouraging them to explore the world around them. We love letting our kids explore, get messy, cook or make music. Learning is meant to be fun!

Learn more about what a typical day at Maryam’s nursery looks like.

Want to find out more about our nursery? Download a brochure or book a space at our Open Day.