Toddler Games: Three Cheap Items for $1 or Less

Here are three items that you can buy for under $1 to play toddler games.

A toddler can make a toddler game out of anything, and so can you. My toddler loves these games, and he is always making up new "rules" for each toddler game.

Some of these items require supervision while playing the toddler games.

Cheap Items for Toddler Games

1. A Book of Stickers

Make a Hide and Seek Toddler Game

Find a book of 200 plus stickers at your local dollar store or discount retailer. The key to finding cheap stickers is to buy general stickers, that do not center around a commercial character like Pirates, Disney, Dora, Miguel or Elmo.

Locate a book of more interesting stickers, including books of ocean life stickers, plant stickers, transportation stickers, or even letters of the alphabet.

Provide a plastic container for decorating, or a piece of paper.

Make a game of decorating the inside of of recycled plastic containers
and then finding the objects.

"Where is the starfish?"

"Where is the octopus?"

2. A String, A Stick, a Magnet, Some Paperclips and Some Paper Fish

Make a Fishing Toddler Game

Many of these items you probably have in the house. The only item you need to buy is a round magnet with a hole in it.

Cut some paper into fish shapes. Laminate if you already have the laminate. Attach a large metal paper clip to each fish (use with adult supervision only). Place the fish in the center of the floor.

Tie the string to the stick and the other end to the magnet. Go fishing with the toddler.

3. A Water Spray Bottle

The Weather Game

For under $1 you can buy a water spray bottle intended for gardening and fill it with water. The different settings can help you play the weather game with the toddler.

A light stream can be mist, a more pronounced water stream is rain in this toddler game. You can even make it pour.

In hot weather, the toddler can enjoy different types of weather with this toddler game, when you squirt the water above their heads and let it rain down on them.

The child will also make their own toddler games with the bottle,including watering the plants, washing the door, and spraying whoever is nearby.

The water spray bottle has fewer parts than a water gun, which can be unsafe for children under three. Plus, the water bottle does not have to be filled as frequently as a pail or a squirt gun, giving thechild more time to enjoy the toddler games.