Easy Activities that Encourage Independent Play for Toddlers

I've been singing the praises of magnetic tiles (Picasso Tiles are our favorite brand) for years. My son got his first set for his 3rd birthday, and almost a year and a half later, he still plays with them every day.

Every time he plays with them, he creates a different game – sometimes he's building a garage for his Hot Wheels, sometimes it's a castle for his dinosaurs, sometimes it's a rocket ship.

He certainly prefers to have me play with him most of the time, but with a little encouragement, I can usually get him to build by himself for at least 20 minutes.

Now that the weather is warming up, my favorite way to keep both my kids playing independently is to fill up the water table on our back deck, open the back door, and let them play by themselves while I work at the kitchen table, where I can see them.

They don't always play with the table how I'd like them to during these independent play sessions, but they do usually stay occupied for 45 minutes or longer.

Even if it results in two soaking wet children, a filthy, rock-filled water table, and water all over my patio furniture, it's well worth it if I can get an hour of work done.

I just recently discovered this little trick on my daughter's birthday last week. Simply blow up a ton of balloons (a balloon pump is helpful), and unleash them upon your kids.

It's so simple, and yet so effective. I would definitely recommend at least being in the same room as your kids for this activity, as we all know balloons can be a hazard for younger toddlers or babies.

But my toddler and preschooler didn't need any interaction or encouragement from me for a solid 30 minutes with balloons at their disposal. They bopped them, tossed them, stacked them, chased them, rolled on them... it was endless fun!

Our homemade ball pits have been my preschooler's favorite activity since he was a baby. (I used the plural "ball pits", because he's also popped a few of them in his time.)

I prefer to configure our own ball pit using a toddler swimming pool with some balls over the lightweight toddler ball pits (although this one looks pretty epic). I like toddler pools because the sides are more structured, and my kids like to get in and kick back like they're lounging on a yacht.

They also like to kick ferociously so the balls fly everywhere, throw the balls at each other, flip over the sides, and lots of other things that generally drive me crazy, but for the most part, don't require any parental intervention – so it's fair game as far as I'm concerned.

We all know the best way to get some peace and quiet during the day with kids at home is with a good solid nap time.

So my number 1 goal every day is to wear these little monsters out so they'll actually SLEEP. My kids are both climbers, so they love anything they can stack, build, climb and jump on.

As long as they've got a soft padded surface to land on underneath it, I'm totally fine with them playing independently with a soft play set like this one.

Our set of fold-out tunnels is another fan favorite for gymnastics time!

A small, indoor trampoline is another great energy-burner in our house. Whenever that 5:00 hour hits, and that switch flips inside my toddlers' heads that turns them into feral little gremlins, I pull out our trampoline and have them go bananas.

I do sometimes have to play referee with this activity, but for the most part I can bark orders ("IT'S YOUR SISTER'S TURN!" "ONE AT A TIME!" "DON'T SIT ON TOP OF THE BAR YOU LUNATIC!") and go back to my work without much disturbance.

Okay, maybe sorting coins is a weird activity for toddlers and preschoolers, but honestly, it's one of my kids' favorite things to do.

You definitely have to know your own kid for this one – make sure they're not prone to swallowing coins if you're going to take your eyes off them – but if they're past that eat-everything phase, this is a great one to try.

My preschooler, in particular, would probably spend a solid hour watching his grandpa's coin sorter at work, then dumping each of the little tubes out, reveling in their shininess, and starting all over again.

This one's easy: get a huge box. Put it in the middle of a room. Do nothing else. Your kid will do the rest.

My kids have spent hours playing in a box, doing Lord knows what!

You can give them crayons or markers to color on the sides, or they can load it up with pillows and blankets (my son used to do this and call it a "snuggle box"), or fill it with their stuffed animals and push them around.

The possibilities are endless, and will have you questioning why you ever spend money on toys, ever.

You definitely need to be in the room for this activity, but when worse comes to worst, bath time pretty much never fails to create independent play.

My kids would sit in the bath until their skin shriveled up into one giant prune if I let them. We haven't even refreshed their bath toys in years, and they don't seem to mind! Something about the water just gets their imaginations churning.

If you do need to freshen up your bath toy lot, my kids love these foam shapes and letters that stick to the bath tub walls when they get wet.

So if you just need some time to sit down for a little bit, or answer some work emails on your phone, or listen in on a conference call, just fill up that tub, and let 'em splash away.

Let's be honest, there can be no list of independent activities for toddlers without screen time.

Whether we like it or not, the quickest, easiest, most hands-off way to entertain a toddler (in my experience, at least), is to stick a tablet in their hands.

As much as I hate turning my kid into a screen zombie, sometimes it really is the only option. When you have to be on a conference call, or you're on a deadline, or you just need 30 minutes of dang PEACE to enjoy a hot cup of coffee – it's the most sure-fire method.

And what I love about the Amazon Fire Kids tablet is that the parental controls are truly unmatched. Not only can you set time limits for the day based on what activity your child is doing, but you can set age limits and content restrictions, and make sure your kid can only find the content you're comfortable with them finding.

For example, my preschooler can't access YouTube at all on his Fire Tablet. All the praise hands!

I've loaded it up with all sorts of educational shows and playlists, apps, books, and games, and I can be confident that he can peruse it all on his own without falling into something weird and inappropriate.