Indoor Toddler Activity – Flashlights Games for Winter or Rainy Days
Stuck indoors during the winter months and looking for an early evening energy burn for your toddler in winter? Flashlights provide easy toddler activities with very little set up time.
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This post may contain affiliate links. My full disclosure policy can be found here.
Indoor Toddler Activities – Flashlight games
The winter months or rainy days mean that you need to find activities that keep your toddler entertained and active inside.
Because it’s dark outside, you can turn out the lights and bring out your flashlights to entertain your two or three year old (actually these activities would be just as fun for older kids!).
The toddler activities listed below don’t require any set up, so you can do them whenever the mood strikes.
And if your toddler has a short attention span you won’t feel like you spent more time preparing then actually playing.
Toddlers are fun, aren’t they?!
Related Toddler Activity Posts:
15 Fun Places To Take Toddlers – That Will Blow Their Minds!
Have A Conversation With Your Toddler To Boost Their IQ
Flashlight safety
A few things we have come across while playing:
1. Toddlers will shine the light in your eyes or their own. Part of learning, but keep an eye out for younger siblings.
2. Watch toes and floors. We started playing with a regular flashlight we had, which was big and heavy.
Inevitably our toddler dropped it, barely missing her toes onto the tile floor.
Try to use a smaller, lighter flashlight and put on some indoor shoes if you’re worried about the weight of it.
Recommended flashlights:
You can start with a flashlight that you own and see how it goes.
Then add a new flashlight just for them to their next Easter Basket or Stocking if they are really enjoying playing with them.
These little flashlights aren’t specifically for kids, but they are small, glow in the dark and come in 4 different color. They are also budget friendly!
This cute flashlight is great for little hands.
Toddler Activities – Flashlight games Â
1. Scavenger Hunt
This can be a very impromptu game or a planned activity.
All you need to do is hand your toddler a flashlight and turn the lights off and tell them to find certain things and make a pile.
You can add a prize at the end or not.
My daughter is just happy to collect things with me in the dark.
Tip: I also use this little game to get my toddler to bring her toys that she has left scattered throughout the house back to the playroom.
So if I see all her stuffed animals have made it to the living room, part of my ‘list’ to find will be ‘four bears’ or ‘two unicorns’.
I have also asked her to find:
- Colors – ‘find something yellow’
- Textures – ‘find something soft’
- Letters – ‘find something that starts with B’
As I mentioned you can also plan it out and have a piece of paper with pictures or colors or words on it.
2. Run to the light.
This one is good for a few kids, but can also be played with just you and your toddler.
One person can be the flashlight holder and others can be runners. Flash the light on a spot on the floor and everyone has to run to it.
You can mix it up and have everyone crawl, jump or bear walk to the spot.
GREAT energy burn.
Just clear the floor before starting and don’t make it pitch black for safety.
3. Puppets
Classic for a reason – kids love shadow puppets. Â Â
Here are some YouTube videos showing how to make shadow puppets with your hands.
Your toddler will be amazed at your talents.
4. Hide and Seek / Sardines
Hide and seek in the dark was a go-to when we were growing up and my cousins and I were sent to the basement to play at my grandparents’ house.
There weren’t any toys and the space wasn’t that big so we played in the dark to make it harder.
The flashlight makes it toddler friendly. Have an adult or older sibling help find people with the toddler and flashlight.
A version called ‘sardines’ is where there is only one person hiding and a group of people searching.
When a ‘seeker’ finds the hider they hide in the same spot. You continue until you’re ‘packed like sardines’ in the hiding place and there is only one seeker left.
5. Build a Fort.
Build a fort out of sheets and bring your flashlights inside.
Inside you can do shadow puppets. Read books or have a snack/dinner by flashlight.
You may even get your picky eater to try something new if they’re in a fort.  Worth a try!
6. Read in the dark
Flashlights can also be used at bedtime. Use a small one and read your book with the light of the flashlight.
If you are working on vocabulary you can pick up one of these books from Amazon and flash the light on the word you want your toddler to focus on.
Conclusion – Toddler Activities with a Flashlight
Dark, cold days can be a challenge with a toddler.
Embrace the earlier sunsets and bring out flashlights to burn some pre-bed energy
Related Toddler Activity Posts:
15 Fun Places To Take Toddlers – That Will Blow Their Minds!
Have A Conversation With Your Toddler To Boost Their IQ
