Fun Activities For Dads and Their Toddlers

Looking for a long list of activities for dads and their toddlers?

I recently went on paternity leave as Eunice and I welcomed our second child into the world. As a result, I’m super excited to have all this free time on my hands to spend with all my princesses this summer. 

However, sometimes it’s difficult to know what sort of fun activities dads should do with their toddlers. Can you relate? I’m sure you know that a bored toddler is a fussy and difficult toddler, so it’s good to have an assorted list up your sleeve. 

These activities don’t need to be complex; they don’t need to take a lot of planning or preparation. However, they do need to be stimulating, challenging, and appropriate, or else you will lose your toddlers attention or leave them frustrated. They also should be fun for you!

So here’s my list of my favourite fun activities for dads and their toddlers. I’m a simple guy – so I hope you find these activities realistic, easy, and most importantly: fun for you and toddler. I CAN’T WAIT to do these with my daughter this summer.     

I’ve broken these activities for dads and their toddlers down into 3 categories:

1. Outdoor activities
2. Indoor activities 
3. Educational activities

Outdoor activities for dads and their toddlers

Playground

To toddlers, playgrounds are amusement parks with endless possibilities. Imagine climbing a tower four times your size and sliding down a spiral slide.

FInd a playground that is safe but still challenging for your toddler. Find one that is also not busy – there is nothing worse than a play structure full of adults herding their kids. 

Water fun

For hours of fun outside, raid the kitchen for: 

• A baking tray 
• Some spatulas
• Strainers 
• Measuring cups and 

The grandparents spoiled our toddler with this awesome contraption and she loves it. However, any make-shift setup would work.  

Water parks

Just like the zebras and wildebeests, toddlers love to chill by the watering hole.

Find the nearest water park (or a rich suburban one) and plan a whole morning or afternoon there.

My toddler loves chasing the jets of water around the park. Check out two we like frequent in Toronto.

Teach them sports

I was recently showing Rosie my amazing soccer skills and to my surprise, she mimicked my moves! You can teach them to:

• roll a toy bowling ball
• fetch a football (any bouncy ball will make then go ecstatic)
• catch
• throw into baskets or nets

Swimming

The hardest part about this toddler activity is that they never want to come out of the water.

Recently I’ve tried to get Rosie ready for swimming by teaching her to blow bubbles in the water. 

Play with sand

Playing with sand is an excellent activity for dads and their toddlers.

Rosie loves to run it through her fingers or fill a whole bucket full. I’m still trying to teach her how to dig holes.

Another tip: add water to the mix and you’ve just opened up a new world for your toddler. 

Indoor activities for dads and their toddlers

Dance and sing

Baby Shark do-do-do-do-do. Among other popular songs are: if you’re happy and you know it and the good morning train.

It’s natural for toddlers to want to move their bodies to a tune. Encourage them to dance and do the actions to your favourite songs. 

Indoor playgrounds

If you can find a small indoor playground in your area – take advantage of it. Your toddler will love the challenge.

As dads, we can only dream of a world that is fully padded for our children – that world exists at the indoor playground. 

Make forts

Here’s what you will need to make a great fort:

• Some bedsheets
• Chairs or tables
• Pillows or a mattress.
• Big cardboard boxes. 

No rules, no instructions, just go crazy!

Hide and seek

I love playing hide and seek with Rosie. It’s one of those games where we can’t contain the laughter. I usually hide in obvious places, because let’s face it, if they can’t find you in a couple of seconds, they’re off playing something else.

Which leaves you in the corner, alone, until your wife finds you.

Embarrassing. 

Activity/Sticker books

Sooner or later you will jump on the activity book bandwagon because they are AWESOME! My toddler loves the ones with copious stickers.

As your toddler gets more sophisticated, there are books with math problems, mazes, dress-up.

We love Usborne activity books; they are hours of fun for everyone.

Tidy-up

Tidying up can be a really fun game for your toddler. They will love to throw things into bins, sort toys based on colour, and lifting things onto (toddler) shelves.

This is a great way for dads to instill good habits in their kids so that cleaning up is a part of play and not a dreaded chore. 

Educational activities for dads and their toddlers

Pretend play

Being able to pretend is a huge step in your toddler’s development. You can play doctor, play mommy, pretend cook, or imitate animals. 

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Let them help with chores

Toddlers are too young to distinguish between work and play; they just want to do everything you do. So let them help around the house:

• Putting stuff in the garbage
• Gardening
• Putting their bowls and utensils into the drawer after they are washed. Empty out a low drawer in your kitchen just for them. 

Read books together

A trip to the local library could be an activity all by itself. Teach your toddler the joy of getting new books and reading them with daddy at home.

Rosie loves the books with flaps on each page, like Where’s Spot?

Blocks

Once Rosie got into blocks, she would want to play with them for a few minutes (which is a long time for toddlers!).

She likes Megablocks, wooden blocks, blocks you can thread on a string, and these funky blocks. They’re all good for your toddler’s growth.

Playdough

Playdough is one of those cheap toys that has so much potential. They will love to just squish it between their fingers.

Rosie enjoys stamping out different shapes with cookie cutters we got for her. 

Drawing/Painting

Toddlers go crazy over some scrap printer paper and some markers/paint. Eventually, they will learn to draw lines, colour in different areas of the page, and even put the lids back on!

Be sure to get a smock for painting and washable markers for colouring! 

So there’s my list of favourite fun activities for dads and their toddlers. What sort of stuff do you LOVE to do with your toddler? Let us know below!