A rainy day can lead to boredom for most adults. Being stuck inside with an energetic toddler can be downright chaotic. Since you can’t magically make your toddler’s energy disappear, try some of the following fun indoor activities to burn your toddlers’ energy:

Create an Indoor Ball Game

How many times have you yelled something to the extent of “Don’t play ball in the house!”? On a rainy day, why not forego the no-playing-ball-in-the-house rule and create a fun and safe indoor ball game for your toddler. This can also be a fun way to get any older children you might have involved as well as burn your toddler’s energy..

Make sure that the ball and any other equipment you use is soft so that nothing gets broken or anyone injured. Help your child make up a game or create an indoor version of their favorite sport, like baseball or soccer. If you don’t have indoor goal posts or bases, have your child find items that make good substitutes. You can even engage your child by asking them why they think that item is the best choice for the job.

Make a Laser Maze

If you don’t have enough space in your home to set up a bouncy castle or indoor ball game, try making a “laser” maze to burn your toddlers’ energy. All you need is a ball of yarn or light rope and some heavy-duty tape. You can tape the yarn back and forth and up and down the hallways of your home. In fact, your kid will probably want to get involved in the process.

Make sure the “lasers” you set up are at an appropriate height for your little one and that the diameters are big enough to fit through. If you want to go a step further, you can put some music on and have your child freeze in position any time the music stops. If they accidentally touch the “laser” yarn, they have to start back at the beginning and try again.

Set Up Indoor Olympics

To really burn off energy, setup an indoor Olympics. Each room in the house can be used as a different station. The living room can be the long jump event where cushioning is placed on the floor for jumping. You can choose which stations go where and have your child help you with set them up. Record their achievements and save those for the next rainy day so that you can compare how they do each time.

Invest in a Bouncy Castle

Most people assume bounce houses are large structures because of what they see at fairs. However, in recent years, several companies have come out with consumer-level bouncers that are incredibly affordable.  Did you know most suburban residences can fit an inflatable bouncy castle inside?

If you have a living room, basement, or play room with sufficient floor space available, why not invest in a bouncy castle? These playhouses are safe and fun for children of most ages. Contrary to a trampoline, they all come with some sort of mesh that prevents falling off the structure.  Even better is that they’re incredibly easy to setup.  A small bounce house takes about 5 minutes to deploy and weighs under 50 lbs.

Make sure your child knows that there are bouncy castle rules, but be mindful of helping them find new ways to play in their inflatable since just jumping around can get a little mundane. Try making a game out of jumping and allow your child to take in safe toys that will add to their fun in the bouncy castle.

Rainy days spent indoors don’t have to be boring or spent on the TV, tablet, or video game console.  By giving your child structured activities, they’ll burn off some of that energy.

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