How to Keep a Farm Toddler Busy
I recently commented on a Facebook thread from a mom asking for help in ideas for keeping her toddler occupied so she can actually get farm chores done. Until I responded to her, I didn’t realize how many “keep kids occupied” ideas I had come up with in the past few years. For most of our time on this farm, I have been the solo chores person AND the solo child care provider as my husband is a truck driver. And in doing so, I have managed to get pretty inventive with keeping Evie from going astray. And since I started writing it down elsewhere, I thought I would just put those ideas here:
1. Keep a safe, kids' spot at each main chore spot—chicken coop, garden, barn. Have a spot you can put a two-year-old down that is relatively clean, safe from getting stomped by animals and where you can keep some sort of activity handy. And most importantly—easily visible from wherever you are hoeing weeds, cleaning stalls or filling water tanks!
2. Be prepared to chunk chores into minute-by-minute segments. If you have a toddler or young child in tow, chances are you are unlikely to get 60 (or 30, or 15, or maybe not even 5) uninterrupted minutes to do chores. Break each set of chores down into bite-size chunks and keep focused on doing each bite instead of getting overwhelmed with the whole giant list. This was how I have kept sane when 3 minutes after getting into the barn my child has informed me she has to go to the bathroom…on a winter day, while we are both bundled in snowsuits. 
Got 5 minutes—go water the chickens quick and then play on the swingset. Find another 3 minutes later to throw the pigs’ feed down. During nap time, run out and deworm the goats. Know how long each chore takes and use your free moments accordingly.
Got 5 minutes—go water the chickens quick and then play on the swingset. Find another 3 minutes later to throw the pigs’ feed down. During nap time, run out and deworm the goats. Know how long each chore takes and use your free moments accordingly.
3. Keeping in mind how long each chores takes, have activities ready to give you the minutes you need. As you try to find that space of time to pull weeds or transfer cows between pastures, keep a list of absorbing “activities” handy. They don’t have to be fancy, just time consuming. Here are some I have used over the years:
-An old cardboard box (or bucket) with some sand or shavings and some old measuring cups can be a lifesaver. Kids like to scoop things— I have no idea why but they do. And that pink or blue sand they sell at Walmart or Target—that is a huge hit, even for “big kids”. The box both keeps the mess somewhat contained and portable…I put in a few hundred feet of fence one day with Evie occupied with her box under a nearby tree!
-The same cardboard box filled with shavings (because we always have shavings handy!) and some random rocks/toys/even corn—put things in there and make it a “treasure hunt” for them to find them. I gained a whole hour of stall cleaning one day by putting some whole corn and old bolts in a 5 gallon pail of shavings and making her search for the treasure (no dumping allowed!)
-A 5-gallon pail of water nset ext to a 8 quart pail and tell them they need to fill the smaller pail to “ help” you water critters...and then, and this is important, gave them a tiny 1/4 cup measuring cup (or a milk replacer scoop, whatever is handy) to transfer the water...that will give you a good 15 minutes of uninterrupted time, make them feel helpful AND fill your "water play" kids activity quotient for a hot day.
-For older kids, take that manky pile of old baling twine ask them to untie/untangle for you. Or take a piece of rope, tie a few loose knots and have them untie/untangle. Not only a time killer, a useful farm skill to learn!
-Water painting—even at age 5, Evie loves to be given a paint brush and a bucket of water and allowed to go “paint the barn”. It only really works if you have metal-sided buildings, but it sure is fun!
-You know that old coffee can full of odds and ends of bolts you have in the farm shop? (seriously, doesn’t every shop have one?). Have them “sort” it for you—by size, by type, by color—it doesn’t matter how they do it because you are just going to dump it all back together again so they can do it again the next day!
-An old cardboard box (or bucket) with some sand or shavings and some old measuring cups can be a lifesaver. Kids like to scoop things— I have no idea why but they do. And that pink or blue sand they sell at Walmart or Target—that is a huge hit, even for “big kids”. The box both keeps the mess somewhat contained and portable…I put in a few hundred feet of fence one day with Evie occupied with her box under a nearby tree!
-The same cardboard box filled with shavings (because we always have shavings handy!) and some random rocks/toys/even corn—put things in there and make it a “treasure hunt” for them to find them. I gained a whole hour of stall cleaning one day by putting some whole corn and old bolts in a 5 gallon pail of shavings and making her search for the treasure (no dumping allowed!)
-A 5-gallon pail of water nset ext to a 8 quart pail and tell them they need to fill the smaller pail to “ help” you water critters...and then, and this is important, gave them a tiny 1/4 cup measuring cup (or a milk replacer scoop, whatever is handy) to transfer the water...that will give you a good 15 minutes of uninterrupted time, make them feel helpful AND fill your "water play" kids activity quotient for a hot day.
-For older kids, take that manky pile of old baling twine ask them to untie/untangle for you. Or take a piece of rope, tie a few loose knots and have them untie/untangle. Not only a time killer, a useful farm skill to learn!
-Water painting—even at age 5, Evie loves to be given a paint brush and a bucket of water and allowed to go “paint the barn”. It only really works if you have metal-sided buildings, but it sure is fun!
-You know that old coffee can full of odds and ends of bolts you have in the farm shop? (seriously, doesn’t every shop have one?). Have them “sort” it for you—by size, by type, by color—it doesn’t matter how they do it because you are just going to dump it all back together again so they can do it again the next day!
That is just a starter list but you get the idea—little things to keep them busy, use materials on hand and if possible, keep them involved in what you are doing!
4. Have them help you…even if they really aren’t helping. Eventually you will (or should) want them to be a part of the goings on of the farm. So make them feel included even when they are too little to do much…it pays big dividends later. Let them gather 2 of the 40 eggs you need to get that morning—at least they are interested and alongside you! Or use a kids’ size scoop to help “feed the pigs”—1/4 cup at a time! Give them a part of the garden that is "theirs", even if it only grows 2 petunias and a watermelon plant! Now that Evie is 5, she can be trusted to go gather eggs all by herself (and often does a better job of finding the hidden ones than I do because she can get down in those weird chicken nooks and crannies!) and she feels empowered to be a part of the workings of the farm. Some day I look forward to being the one who plays in the water while she sweats dragging hoses around the yard filling water tanks. LOL!
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