Hi Everyone! Here are some of the ways we entertain our 2 year old at home on the weekends.
Apartments in Tokyo are often SUPER small and rarely have a backyard, so parents often have to make extra effort to entertain their kids and keep them busy.
For us, we go out for most of the day on the weekends, but Saturday and Sunday mornings and evenings are usually spent relaxing and playing in our lounge room. With a VERY energetic toddler, we have tried many ways to entertain him (and stop him from running loudly around our apartment!). These are his favourites so far:)!
1. Tea Party
Tea party with his favourite teddies
2. Reading books
Reading books (with favourite teddies of course!)
3. Skype with our relatives
Skype with my family in Australia (including my mum’s dog!)
4. Playing with the flash light
Playing with the torch (kept him entertained for ages!)
5. Playing with our Hanko stamps (very important clerical work!)
Playing with Mummy’s and Daddy’s hankos (Japanese personal stamps)
6. Craft
Craft – enjoying making little snowmen with the recent snowy weather!
7. Drawing
Drawing on cardboard boxes (great for all the boxes left-over from buying nappies etc on Amazon)
8. Dress ups
Dress-ups! This morning having fun wearing my hat:)
Others include playing with the big beach ball, playing with his trains and cars, cooking with mummy, and his most recent favourite – making cubby houses!
How do you entertain your kids at home?
Hi Kate – first up GREAT website – we are travelling to Japan (for 2 weeks) this May with our 18mth old daughter and I’ve used your website a LOT to find out many useful things for our trip.
Just wanted to say congrats and thank you for all the amazing info (especially about which nappies/diapers to buy in Japan!)
In terms of keeping a toddler entertained in an apartment on a rainy day, we always opt for cubby houses and indoor play tunnels! So much fun.
Thanks again!!!
Emily
(Canberra, Australia)
Hi Emily! Thanks so much for your message! I’m so exciting to hear Tokyo Urban Baby is helping you plan your trip to Japan with your baby:) My son has also just discovered cubby houses recently. I’ll have to try the tunnel too! Thanks! Kate xx P.S. Did you sign up for our Tokyo City Guide Map? It can also help you with finding baby rooms and baby-friendly cafes while you are here:)
Hi Kate, I don’t live in Tokyo but we also have a small living space. My toddler loves to bathe for hours so that becomes our entertainment. We have a tiny yard where he also loves to blow soap bubbles. Finally, I don’t know if you can do it with futons, but we also have bed mattresses on the floor (no mattress frame) so he can roll around & do his own version of “gymnastics” there.
Claire (from the U.S.)
Thank you Claire! We discovered bubbles too recently! Our son loves it and keeps him entertained for a good 30min. That’s also a great idea to put the futon on the floor and do gymnastics. I haven’t done that before! I’ll try it! Kate xx