How to Entertain Your Young Children During a Quarantine

Jenkins also noted that, for her children, it was important to keep in touch with their school friends. You might also want to explore remote options for staying in contact with vulnerable family members that you want to protect from Covid-19.

FaceTime is a popular option, but you can also use videochat services from Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or WhatsApp. Whatever your thoughts on Facebook’s policies, Facebook’s Portal is still my two kids’ favorite way to stay in touch with my parents. We may have canceled our flight to visit them over spring break, but they can still put on an augmented-reality pirate hat for Grandpa.

Depending on your comfort level, play dates can still continue. If you have access to outdoor space, letting the kids running around can burn off their excess energy, but Carrion notes that you might want to consider creative ways to reduce touching. “Instead of tag, try a game that’s the opposite of tag,” he said, like Flashlight Tag or hide-and-seek.

Hiking is a fun, contact-free activity. You can also try looking for birds. I have also buried small toys in the backyard and made a map for my child to have a pirate treasure hunt. You can also plan a scavenger hunt for “things that are smaller than a hand” or “things that make noise.”

If the weather is still too cold to go out, or if you don’t have access to a safe space, other parents suggested indoor dance parties. My then-3-year-old liked the Freeze Dancers game when I tested the older Amazon Echo Dot for kids. Other contact-free games might include Limbo or musical chairs.

For finding music, you probably know that most online streaming services offer their own kid-friendly playlists if you’d prefer to not have to personally vet every Katy Perry song. You can also draw out the fun by enlisting help to make decorations, like streamers or posters, while you select festive lighting on your smart bulb's mobile app.

Like many parents, I’m leery about giving my small children too much screen time. But I’ve been testing a new iPod Touch for a week now with my 5-year-old, and it’s proven a useful device for keeping track of her own apps and games while keeping them off my own phone.

For example, I moved the Moshi Twilight app that I use to put her to sleep during naps, so that I can play the soothing stories over a Bluetooth speaker without using my phone. I also use the iPod Touch to play her kids' podcasts (her favorites are But Why and Circle Round). We find educational shows she likes on PBS Kids, Noggin, or Netflix (like Brainchild), and one favorite on YouTube is Cosmic Kids Yoga. My colleague Scott Gilbertson says his children enjoy documentaries on CuriosityStream.

The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that children as young as 3 years old can benefit from including chores in their routine. Personally, I’ve noted that the younger the child is, the more they enjoy doing chores alongside me, whether that’s pulling laundry out of the dryer or vacuuming with their own personal hand vac.

A more affordable way to include your child is this easy crinkle chopper, which is intended for potatoes but which my children use to safely chop hard-boiled eggs or fruit for pie fillings. Don’t try it with vegetables that are too hard for little arms. A step stool also helps.

Several acquaintances have suggested that being quarantined in your home is a convenient time to potty-train my reluctant 3-year-old. I don’t particularly want to cover my home in urine while dealing with the anxiety of a worldwide pandemic, but for some of you, this might be the perfect opportunity. This is the potty training seat we have. My son has never used it.

Nearly every parent that I spoke to used goods around the house for crafts. Washi tape and cardboard boxes were recommended, as was the strategy of raiding your recycling bins for funky things to cut up and repurpose.

I like the versatility of wrapping paper, especially considering that we always have extra on hand. One parent said that their children made dresses, origami, and collages; used sheets as walls for forts; and when they were completely unrolled, used the paper rolls as swords. Small children seem to find the idea of unlimited supply to be alluring, so I'd recommend putting limits on unrolling rolls of toilet paper or paper towels.

Almost every parent I spoke to had one toy that keeps their child occupied for hours. Some mentioned an indoor toddler trampoline. Others mentioned dice or board games like Dinosaur Escape.

For my children—and possibly yours—that magical toy is the basic Lego bricks set. Not only do they have fun building and destroying each other’s creations, they also like to sort them by color into organizer trays. I also give them challenges to keep them busy, like asking them if they can build a Lego tower that can reach the ceiling.