Winter activities for 18-month-olds

Winter ideas for 18-month-olds

Winter hands a toddler a new set of materials: snow that crunches and then turns to water in a warm palm, frost on the window, and a pile of hats, mittens and boots to pull on and off several times a day. Shorter days mean more time indoors, so short movement games and real dressing practice carry much of the season. Cold and warm, wet and dry, on and off are words a child can hear and feel at the same moment. The 6 ideas below overlap the 18-23-month band, best fit for 18 months first.

How to do Snowman Face Builders

Pack a small snowman or snow mound and let your child add eyes, a nose and arms from large items while you name each body part. Words to model: nose, eyes, arms, head. Use large pieces only: no pebbles, buttons or coal lumps that fit in a mouth.

1. 1

   Pack a mound of snow about as tall as your child's waist.

2. 2

   Poke two eyes with your finger and say "Eyes!", then pause so your child can poke too.

3. 3

   Hand over the carrot and ask "Where's the nose?"

4. 4

   Touch your own nose, then the snowman's, and wait for your child to place it.

5. 5

   Add the stick arms and the hat together, naming each part: "Arms, head, hat on!"

More winter ideas at 18 months

• Coloured Snow Squirting

  Squeeze bottles of tinted water onto fresh snow to make splashes and stripes, building hand strength and noticing what each squeeze does. Ages 18-23 months, 5-12 min, outdoors. Start: fill each bottle with tinted water at home and screw the caps on tightly. Say: squeeze, red, blue. Safety: Fill the bottles with water and food colouring only, and keep the caps screwed on tight.

• Snow Track Detective Walk

  Take a short walk to look for prints in the snow from birds, dogs, bikes and boots, pointing and naming who might have made each one. Ages 18-23 months, 8-15 min, outdoors. Start: walk slowly and stop at the first set of prints you see. Say: who, dog, bird. Safety: Stay on paths away from roads, and keep off frozen ponds and streams.

• Little Shovel Path Helper

  Give your child a toddler-size shovel or a cup while you clear a path, so they can scoop, carry and dump snow alongside you. Ages 18-23 months, 5-12 min, outdoors. Start: mark a small helper zone in the yard or on the path, well away from your own shovel. Say: scoop, dump, full. Safety: Keep your child clear of the street, the driveway and the swing of an adult's shovel or snowblower.

• Dress Teddy for the Snow

  Bundle a stuffed animal in a hat, a sock mitten and a blanket coat before a pretend trip outside, naming each body part as you go. Ages 18-23 months, 5-10 min, indoors. Start: say "Teddy wants to play in the snow. Brrr, Teddy is cold!" Say: hat on head, hand, cold. Safety: Leave doll clothes with cords, small buttons or snaps that pop off out of the pile.

• Frozen Toy Rescue

  Free a toy frozen in a tub of ice by pouring lukewarm water over it, a slow puzzle that pairs pouring practice with watching ice melt. Ages 18-23 months, 8-15 min, indoors. Start: pop the ice block onto the baking sheet on a towel and say "Oh no, Duck is stuck!" Say: stuck, pour, melt. Safety: Test the water on your inner wrist: it should feel warm, never hot.

Winter safety for 18-month-olds

Seasonal hazards first, then the precautions of the ideas on this page. Stay within arm's reach whenever water, food or small decorations are involved.

• Dress in thin layers with a hat, mittens and waterproof boots, check fingers, toes, ears and cheeks often, and head inside when clothes get wet or your child starts to shiver.
• Take bulky coats and snowsuits off before buckling the car seat; tighten the harness over regular clothes and lay the coat or a blanket on top.
• Do not let your child eat snow from roadsides, plowed piles or pet areas, or suck on icicles; stay off frozen ponds and away from roof edges where icicles drop.
• Keep rock salt, de-icer and windshield washer fluid out of reach, and wipe salty boots and mittens before they end up in a mouth.
• Gate fireplaces, space heaters and hot radiators, and keep hot drinks in the middle of the table, never in the hand that is holding a toddler.
• Use large pieces only: no pebbles, buttons or coal lumps that fit in a mouth.
• Fill the bottles with water and food colouring only, and keep the caps screwed on tight.
• Stay on paths away from roads, and keep off frozen ponds and streams.

Winter words for 18-month-olds

Winter books to share

Kinds of books to look for at the library. At 18 months, point and name, then pause and let your child point.

• Board books about getting dressed for the cold, one piece of clothing per page
• Touch-and-feel books with fluffy, smooth and bumpy winter textures
• Picture books about animals in the snow and where they rest through the winter
• Short stories about a snowy walk that use sound words like crunch, swish and drip

Winter gift and basket ideas for 18-month-olds

Open-ended things that fit 18-23 months; check every part against the choking-size rule (nothing that fits through a toilet-paper tube).

• A set of large wooden or cardboard blocks for indoor building days
• A fabric play tunnel, or a big empty box to crawl through on cold afternoons
• Toddler mittens with a wide cuff that are easy to pull on alone
• A few soft balls in different sizes for indoor throwing and rolling
• A small plastic snow shovel and a bucket for helping outdoors

Library activities that suit winter

Everyday activities from our library that fit 18-month-olds and the season's short days indoors and bundling up to go out.

• Block Bed for Teddy

  Your child builds a simple bed and wall from big blocks for a stuffed animal, putting building to work inside a small pretend story. Why now: tagged quiet and rainy-day, practices building and constructing and works indoors. 5-12 min, no prep.

• Peekaboo Sleeve Push

  Hold a sleeve open like a tunnel and wait for your child to push their arm through, turning everyday dressing into a peekaboo game they help with. Why now: practices helping with dressing and works indoors. 2-5 min, no prep.

• Blanket Wave Teddy Bounce

  You and your child hold a blanket and wave it high, low and fast while singing, making a teddy bounce, then freeze together on "stop". Why now: tagged music and rainy-day and works indoors. 5-10 min, 2 min prep.

• Dough Pancake Press

  Your child squeezes, pats and pokes a ball of soft dough into a flat pancake, then presses a block into it, strengthening hands and fingers. Why now: tagged rainy-day and quiet and works indoors. 5-15 min, no prep.

• Mirror Feelings Faces

  At a mirror you make one feelings face at a time, name it and pause, so your child can copy the expression and link it to a word. Why now: tagged quiet and rainy-day and works indoors. 3-6 min, no prep.

More seasonal ideas