All agesActivities

Free things to do on a wet afternoon, by age

From the sock-sorting game to the cardboard marble run.

12 October 20261 min read

On this page 3 sections
  1. Babies
  2. Toddlers
  3. Big kids

In short

  • Everything here uses things you already own.
  • Ideas for babies, toddlers and big kids.
  • Most take under five minutes to set up.

All of these use things already in your house.

Babies

A basket of safe kitchen objects: a wooden spoon, a whisk, a metal bowl. Let them empty it. Refill it. Repeat.

Toddlers

Sock sorting. Tip out the clean washing and ask them to find pairs. It’s a matching game that also does a chore.

Big kids

A marble run taped to the hallway wall with kitchen roll tubes. Give them one hour and a roll of tape.

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Ellie Grant

Ellie looks after our pregnancy and birth coverage, working with midwives and hundreds of reader panels.

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