21 Things To Keep Kids Under 3 Occupied For At Least 5 Minutes
Keeping little ones busy, even just for a few minutes, can be... difficult, to say the least. Sometimes you just need a couple of minutes to take a breather. We understand and we have you covered. Below you’ll find an entertaining mix of toys and activities that’ll keep tiny tots occupied so you can enjoy a little “me time.”
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A hedgehog named Spike
Promising Review: "Love this product. It says 18+ months but it was fun for both of my kids (11 months and 3). It’s meant to help with fine motor skills. The spikes are rubber with different colors and you can put them in and take them out of the holes in the hedgehog. The best part is that when they’re done playing the hedgehog opens and you can store all the spikes in there so they don’t get lost." — Tony Wexler
For ages 18+ Months
Get it from Amazon for $9.59.
A set of Magna-Tiles
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Target for $34.99.
A jumbo 34-piece, floor puzzle
Promising Review: "Love the design and so does my kid. Takes the abuse from a toddler without any issues." — Jordan
For ages 2+ years
Get it from Amazon for $21.99.
A 33-piece kids' camping set
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Amazon for $28.99.
A My First Bowling Set
For ages 0-2 years
Get it from Amazon for $20.60.
A 600-piece set of Plus Plus interlocking puzzle blocks
Promising Review: "These are now my go-to toy if I need my 5- and 3-year-olds to stop tearing the house apart for just five GD minutes. My kids are notoriously hard to impress, but these keep them engaged and occupied for as long as I need. Even my dad is enjoying them! Well worth the money!" — Lily Saxon
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Amazon for $30.79 (available in three colors).
A Clamp Bee To Hive matching game
Promising Review: "My 17-month-old loves this game, and it develops his fine motor skills at the same time. We talk about colors and the bee and what noise it makes, how it flies with wings, etc. The wings stay on well and it is well-crafted all around. If your child prefers to use their fingers instead of the tweezers, the holes for bees are big enough actually for an adult to do so also. What a fun and educational activity!" — SAHM Teacher
For ages 12+ months
Get it from Amazon for $15.99.
A magnetic drawing board
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (available in three colors).
An entire alphabet of robot action figures (from Alpha to Zed)
Promising Review: "These little toys are so cute. My sons love to transform them and my older son loves to make the bigger robots out of the small ones. They occupy a nice bit of their time. As with any kid, cleanup is not as easy we have currently lost some of them but I'm pretty sure they'll find them at some point but, yeah, kids will be kids." — Alycia
For ages 3+ years
Get them from Amazon for $29.49.
A fruit & veggie tote set
Promising Review: "I have a 6-month-old and a 2-1/2-year-old. These play foods are safe for a baby to play with and teethe. The food is solid and can be tossed in the wash for quick cleaning. No annoying holes that collect molded water. These will last a long time. My baby can't even make any teeth marks with his six teeth. They are so durable. I can't wait to buy the other kitchen sprouts items!" — alisa schmidt
For ages 18+ months
Get it from Amazon for $16.60.
An eight-piece, wooden Melissa & Doug vehicle sound puzzle
Promising Review: "We haven’t had a miss yet with these puzzles! My children are ages 3 through nearly 22, and all six of them have played with Melissa & Doug Toys on their own and together. They are so well-made they last for years and years and are both fun and educational. The puzzles are especially great, They teach sorting, matching, following directions, taking turns. Melissa & Doug are one of the best toy brands ever!" — Laura D
For ages 2+ years
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
A "Hot Dots" learning set
Promising Review: "My 3.5-year-old loves Pete the Cat and we wanted to get her something that was a little more involved than just books. This is perfect for her. She loves doing the different activity cards. WE also like that it involves her favorite book character with something educational. She has always been advanced for her age and we have trouble finding things that challenge her but that is still doable and this was the perfect solution for us. She likes that she feels independent doing it (we still have to read her the directions on the cards)." — Amanda G
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Amazon for $27.99.
A 3-pack of reusable coloring books
Promising Review: "My family and I went on a 27-hour road trip for the Christmas holiday. Needless to say, I was a bit anxious over the idea of traveling with a 4-, 2-, and 1-year-old. These things were a lifesaver! I had bought quite a few other activities for them to do but they kept returning to these. I love that there is no cleanup and they are reusable. I also thought the pen storage was a really nifty idea. The pages are a thick chipboard-like material so that there is no water leakage between pages. We still use these- Sometimes I pull them out while I'm getting dinner ready and it keeps them occupied." — Dina
For ages 3+ years
Get them from Amazon for $16.76.
A Little People version of Elsa's Ice Palace
Promising Review: "I thought I was sick of Frozen, being the parent of a 3-year-old, but my love for her thawed my frozen heart and I let it go and bought this anyway. Let me tell you, this playset is nowhere near a fixer-upper, it’s perfect right out of the box! My 3-year-old, for the first time in forever, didn’t ask us to watch the movie! She instead, acted out the whole movie with the characters provided in this set. I guarantee she will even be playing with this in summer!" — Christopher Snow
For ages 18+ months
Get it from Amazon for $34.88.
A Playskool Explore N' Grow Busy Ball Popper
Promising Review: "One of the best toys ever! Even toddlers can operate it by themselves. Keeps them occupied for quite a while. Put a piece of tape over the speaker if it is too loud." — Lucie Kreth
For ages 9+ months
Get it from Amazon for $34.99.
A two-sided Carry and Go track table
Promising Review: "This is a godsend of a product. My son is 2-1/2 and plays with it all the time. It fits his hot wheels and Cars and the other side fits generic trains and Thomas the Train. It is light enough that he has no problem flipping it on his own when he wants to change sides. It also fits in the trunk of my car no problem so we take it to grandma’s house from time to time. My son is hyperactive and this is the only toy that has kept him busy for longer than 10 minutes. He played on it for two straight hours just yesterday! (You other parents know how amazing that is! LOL)." — Christina Smith
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Amazon for $41.99.
A Buckle Toys Blu Whale
Promising Review: "This is my 2-year-old's new favorite toy. He loves to buckle and unbuckle everything, and use the zipper. Plus, he holds it and plays with it as a normal, very cute fish. I also use it to reinforce colors and shapes to him. When he grows older, I will try teaching him to cross the buckles (some of the colors are the same type of buckle, some are different, but the ones that are the same are just long enough you can cross-connect them). This is also our favorite new toy because it doesn't drive us crazy while making noise and it keeps him occupied easily for 15-30 minutes every time! — Bryant Fong
For ages 12+ months
Get it from Amazon for $21.99.
A LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words book
Promising Review: "My 17-month-old loved this sound book, we bought it for a road trip to Yellowstone but even after the road trip at 20-month-old he still plays with it on his own at least few times a day. One complaint I have is that the pages/pictures are quite sensitive to touch, so a slight touch by another finger will make it change the words it says and it might be confusing for the child in terms of learning each word to picture. But I think that can be solved if an adult accompanies the child while playing then it should be fine." — BananaC
For ages 18+ months
Get it from Amazon for $17.88.
An LCD writing tablet
Promising Review: "We got this for our 3-year-old and he loves it! We love the fact that it's not markers to be used on the wall! The magnetic part on the back is actually pretty useful as he can put it away on our oven (or fridge). Not sure how long it will last with him abusing it, but already worked for a few months so for the cost we are extremely pleased!" — Joey
For ages 3+ years
Get it from Amazon for $24.99.
A 10-pack of Play-Doh
Promising Review: "Colorful, nontoxic Play-Doh has been great for my son who has many allergies including skin allergies. He has had no problem with these. This keeps him occupied for quite some time, often when I am cooking or cleaning. I played with this as a child myself and have fond memories of it." — Brandy P.
For ages 2+ years
Get it from Amazon for $7.99.
A Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes toy
Promising Review: "This toy is amazing. 1. It occupies my daughter for long enough that mom can run to the bathroom or make dinner (that ALONE should be enough — but there is more) 2. It introduces her to classical music. 3. Probably most important — it can take a beating. I am constantly surprised after picking this up off the floor for the one zillionth time that it never stops playing or breaks after being thrown overhand at our tile floor." — Amelia C.
For ages 3+ months
Get it from Amazon for $8.88.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
