As any parent knows, having a child requires a lot of ‘stuff’. Nappies, toys, clothes they grow out of almost immediately… It’s difficult living a waste-conscious lifestyle with little ones around. But there are ways that you can help to reduce the carbon footprint of parenting. We’ve put together some activities for toddlers that don’t involve lots of environment-harming resources.
Have a look at our eco activity list below:
- Music and Dancing: These are great activities for toddlers who need to let off a bit of energy. Neither requires anything more than a radio and a natural talent for making noise. When we think about encouraging a budding musician, the emphasis is often on buying expensive instruments or the latest piece of music-playing tech. But actually, the simple pleasure of dancing around the living room to whatever song happens to be playing at the time is not to be underestimated.
- Party Games: If you want low-waste activities for a group of children you could do worse than looking to the books of party games from the 1950s and 60s. In these austere times there was no spending money on games and toys, so fun tended to be resource-free. Games like Sardines, Hide and Seek, Mystery or Sleeping Lions all require nothing at all and are a novelty for children used to playing with objects all day. These are great when your toddlers are mixing with friends and family of different ages, meaning the older children can help the younger ones to get involved.
- Enjoying the countryside. Nature is the world’s largest playground. Happily, you don’t need to spend money playing outdoors, and even better, it will instil in your little one an automatic love of nature. If you have a baby in tow, make sure you have a pram or stroller that’s suitable for all-types of terrains. Then just look at a map and start the adventure. Try to mix it up so children get exposed to lots of different environments – from pebbly beaches to rolling hills. You can also teach them about the seasons by going back to places and observing the differences depending on the time of year. What better activity is there for a toddler than stamping on crunchy forest leaves in the autumn?
- Baking: When you need to relax from all that wholesome fresh air, why not try a bit of at home baking with your kids? Cooking is often seen as an activity for older children, but actually even if they are only watching, 2-3 year olds love playing around in the kitchen and often learn a lot while doing so. The great thing about making bread or cakes with children is that it doesn’t involve getting buying lots of craft materials that you’ll half use then leave at the back of a cupboard. Choose recipes where you already have lots of the ingredients and can happily use the leftovers for the rest of the week.
There are lots of activities for toddlers that require little to no buying at all. When it comes to preventing waste, a little creativity and thought really do go a long way. Try some of these ideas today!
