75 ways to entertain toddlers: 45 to 62

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45. Make a playdough sweet shop. Use different colours and shapes to make lollies, chocolate bars, candy bars and fruit drops.

46. Be sleeping lions. Your child must lie still for as long as possible! Or play musical statues. When the music stops, they must freeze!

47. Put 20 household objects on a tray. Show them to your child for 2 minutes, then hide them. See how many she can remember.

48. Ask a friend over. At this age children love to have a companion and are easier to entertain.

49. Make a paper-bag puppet with buttons for eyes and wool hair.

50. If round at Granny's, get her to sing songs and play games from when she was young. They may seem outdated to you, but your toddler won't know the difference

51. Play hide-and-seek but pretend to be a bit short-sighted when it's your turn to do the seeking!

52. Play hunt the teddy. Take it in turns to hide it in the house.

53. Make biscuits - Let her roll the pastry, use the shape cutters and help with the icing and decorating.

54. Hide toys that make a noise behind the settee. See if your child can guess which one she's hearing.

55. Play car games. If travelling to relatives, play games along the way such as spotting the red car, bike, sheep etc.

56. Paint designs onto each other's hands using watercolours.

57. Thread tubes of pasta on to lengths of string to make some pasta jewellery.

58. Play dolls' hospitals. Provide loo-paper bandages and a few plasters, then line up dolls and toys as patients.

59. See how many small objects you can fit into a matchbox.

60. After a birthday or Christmas, save the cards and cut them in half. Give your child one half of each card and spread the others around the room. See if she can put them back together.

61. Play a board game. Board games are something to get the whole family involved. Something like snakes and ladders will be easy enough for your tot to play as well.

62. Make an alphabet scrapbook. Cut out photos from magazines for each letter of the alphabet.

- The final list of tips for keeping your toddler happy

- Fun ways to help your child learn
- Get your young ones used to water early
- Do you have any top tips for keeping toddlers busy? Share them with others on Chat

By Debbie Kirby