occupying 2 year old

Play dough, making jam tarts, water play, building a wormery, glueing, painting, models out of junk,dens with blankets/ sheets and clothes horse or similar

I go the charity shop for my toys. Puzzles, anything that makes noise....I've got 6 grandchildren of varying ages.
When the weather's better, there'll be lots to do....we have a duck pond near by ...I take them there . Enjoy your little grandson. Have fun...they grow up so fast.

If you are brave enough...sensitive shaving foam is brilliant for fun! Smells okay and cleans up fairly easily. Not as messy as paint either!

We look after 2 year old grandson twice a week all day. He enjoys play dough, simple puzzles, building towers with large lego blocks and Peppa Pig cartoons. I have some wallpaper lining paper which I spread out and use for scribbling on. He also likes climbing in and out of a large cardboard box and playing hide & seek. I take him out in the mornings to toddler groups (where I have other grans to talk to) or the park if fine and his favourite thing is climbing, running and jumping. When it rains we go to a garden centre with a soft play area or to a leisure centre which has a bouncy castle and lots of ride-ons.

Hi, a big bag of pasta lots of different shapes, can be used for pretend cooking with pans and utensils, or for making pictures.

Well, my two and a half year old grandaughter and her cousin, who is ten months younger, spent ages playing with a large cardboard box. The older one spent some time painting it, then she pretended it was a boat and pushed the soft toys round in it. My grandson sat in it and pretended to row using wooden spoons as oars. It has also been a doll’s bed, a car, a table for a shop, and a base for building castles. I buy lots of toys and jigsaws from charity shops too. They both enjoy playing with play doh, and I give them bamboo knives and forks to cut it with and to make patterns. (Bamboo cutlery left over from a party.) I also have a box of “treasures”- unwanted bead necklaces, shiny paper, small jewellery boxes, ribbons, scraps of fabric and wool, corks etc. that they like to empty and sort. The two and a half year old likes painting, drawing and sticking scraps onto paper and paper plates- you could help him make an animal mask with scraps of paper, wool, buttons etc. However, 20 mins is the longest either of them spend doing anything- normal for their ages.

I sellotape a long sheet of wallpaper (white side up!) to the kitchen floor then we draw roads, car parks etc then get some vehicles out to play.

Look around and see whats going on in your area, I always take mine to story time at the library, also tots gymnastics, they all loved that

Make balls together out of newspaper, tissue paper etc. Then throw them into a waste paper basket, play hunt the thimble, or whatever is to hand, take it in turns to do the hiding, hide and seek.

No 1 choice is the big cardboard box
No 2 "washing up"
No 3 the roll of ( cheap lining) paper
No 4 big plastic tablecloth on kitchen floor.
Remember to mix washing-up liquid into poster paints for easier washing!

Thank you all for your suggestions, hints and tips. I have ordered playdo and already have a large box we can play with. I remember playing under the clothes horse made into a tent. One of his first words was 'ipad' but I will only allow short times with it. Fortunately he loves books. He enjoys playing with pots and pans so will build on that with stacking cake tins etc.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201905/medium-862164-soap-snake3.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201905/medium-889709-soap-snake.jpg

One thing my grandson loves is Soapy Snakes.

Cut the bottom off any plastic bottle. Put a cloth over the end and tie it or use a rubber band.
Pour 1/4 cup of water into a shallow dish and add a good squeeze of washing up liquid. Dip the cloth into this and then ask the child to blow through the neck of the bottle.

Cut out two paper fish shapes from any magazine.

Place them about a yard in front of you. Flap - slap the magazine right to the floor behind the fish so the wind from the magazine makes the fish jump forward. See who can get to the other side of the room first.

We used to have a chair to go round as for older children, making the fish move sideways was an extra challenge.

Make a garden in a tray or shallow dish. Use a mirror for a pond and some animal figures.

Even a 2 year old can make shortbread - with very clean hands.
4oz butter, 2 oz sugar 6 oz flour. Squeeze it all together in a big plastic bowl until it comes to a ball - maybe gran needs to do the last bit if little hands get tired.
Place in shallow ovenproof dish. Bake in medium oven and enjoy the shortbread that he made

PM me if you need more ideas.

Do you have an Instagram account?
If so, I recommend following accounts on there for really simple, cheap ideas. Five Minute Mum, our sensory kids, adelines hearts and crafts are a great start. This will lead you to others. There are so many ideas on these accounts!
If you don’t have Instagram, Pinterest has lots of ideas on there too.

It is much more economic to make your own play dough. If it is cooked you can keep it.
www.activityvillage.co.uk/play-dough-recipe

The most fun you can have with a child that age is outside. I would walk into the countryside/park and look for bugs, listen for birds look at the trees/sky smell the flowers and talk to him then listen to him, tell him about nature and he will be tired out by the time you get home.

I wholeheartedly agree Scentia, never be inside, when you can be out!