How to Keep a One Year Old Busy with Household Items

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What is your baby’s favorite toy?

Is it an actual ‘baby’ toy that you purchased? Or is it something that you already had laying around the house?

My twins favorite toys are actually not toys at all. Their favorite toys are household items. The top two are silicone straws and empty water bottles.

Why do I have alllll of these toys? I could have saved SO much buy just opening a kitchen cabinet and letting them go at it. I mean, they do love their other toys. All of the Fisher Price Learning Dog toys are awesome. But they come in third when I hand out the straws and water bottles.

I have a theory as to why babies choose household items rather than their own. It is the same reason they love our phones and the remote. It’s because they see us use them ALL day and they want to be just like mom or just like dad!

They don’t know any different. They see you something in your hands all day and their minds go to “Oh that is moms toy. I want moms toy!”

This list could be helpful for two kinds of people. 

1. People looking to not spend so much dang money on toys

2. People looking for new ideas because their kids are bored

I understand both sides. If you walked into my house at any given time before about 9pm, you would have a hard time making your way over to the couch. Then an even harder time because, well, they know how to rip the couch cushions out and throw them on the ground.

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If you really don’t want that huge freaking mess of colorful toys? Keep on reading.

And if you don’t want to spend aaaaanymore money trying to find toys your kids are actually going to like, keep reading as well!

I am assuming you already have this list of things in your house. Mainly because they are household staples in my own home. But if you did want to shop and get ‘baby specific’ versions for yourself, I have also included the Amazon links to most of them.

Don’t Buy Any More Toys, Play with Household Items Instead

• Measuring Cups

  Also great for sensory play! Fill buckets with small items and let the kids scoop them out.

• Turned over Cake Pans

  Kind of like pots and pans, they make a ton of noise!

• Wooden Spoons

  Perfect for banging on the cake pans.

• Whisks

• Silicone Straws

  Odd favorite, but they are worth a try! Really all straws work.

• Hair Brush

• Empty Water/Soda Bottle

  You can leave them as is, or fill them up with some water, little bit of color and some glitter. You could also fill with water and small toy objects. Either way, they make for a fun sensory activity.

• Wipes Container

  There are a few DIY’s for these. You can tape around the outside and fill them with pom poms or similar items and have your toddlers practice grabbing items out and putting them back, or check out Pinterest for even more ideas!

• Diaper Boxes

  Perfect for crawling inside of or throwing all of their toys into! I also flip them upside down and the twins use them as bongos.

• Pillows

  Do your kids love pillows? I can lay them across the floor and the twins love picking them up and tossing them or rolling all over them. They provide a ton of play time!

• Tooth Brushes

  I give the twins their own, or new clean ones, and they love chewing on them and batting them around.

• Laundry Baskets

  Laundry baskets can be used in many different ways. As a toy drop, something to play in, something to cuddle in and watch a movie, or even to just push around the house!

What else?

Those are the weird things around my house that my twins absolutely love. I would love to hear what you think and what weird household items your kids have turned into toys!

Want some other ideas? Check out this post for creative rainy day play at home!