Calm time
Quiet, close, unhurried. For the end of the day, for recovering from a hard afternoon, or for when nobody has the energy for anything bigger.
90 activities
By age
90 ideas
Face to Face
Hold your baby about a forearm's distance away and let them study your face. Slowly stick out your tongue or open your mouth wide, then wait.
0 mo – 4 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Tell Them What's Happening
While you change or dress your baby, say what you are doing in simple words. "Now the left arm. Now we're all done."
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Down Here With You
During awake tummy time, lie down facing your baby so your face is at their level, and talk to them quietly.
0 mo – 6 mo · 2 min · At home · Calm · No materials
The Same Song Each Time
Pick one short song and sing it at the same moment each day — before the bath, or while getting dressed. Repetition is the point.
0 mo – 18 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Hello, Hands
Bring your baby's hands gently together where they can see them, and let them look. Name them: "these are your hands."
5 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Say Something, Then Wait
Say one short thing to your baby, then stay quiet and count slowly to five. Often a sound, a look or a small movement comes back.
1 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Water Falling
In the bath, pour a little water from a cup where your baby can watch and hear it. Pause, then pour again when they look back.
2 mo – 18 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm
A Tour of the Room
Carry your baby slowly around a room and stop at three things. Name each one and let them look for as long as they want.
1 mo – 6 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm · No materials
Quiet Time on Your Chest
Sit back comfortably with your baby resting on your chest and simply be quiet together for a few minutes.
0 mo – 6 mo · 10 min · At home · Calm · No materials
Light and Shade
Carry your baby to a window and let them look at the changing light. Describe what you can both see.
0 mo – 8 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm · No materials
Low Voice, High Voice
Say the same short phrase twice — once in a low voice, once in a high one — and see which your baby prefers.
1 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Down It Goes
When your baby drops something from the high chair, pick it up and hand it back with the same cheerful word each time. Then wait a moment and see whether they want another turn.
6 mo – 15 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm
In and Out
Give your baby a shallow box and a few large safe objects. Taking things out comes first; putting them back comes much later.
7 mo – 20 mo · 10 min · At home · Calm
Who Is That?
Sit together in front of a mirror. Wave, then wait. Name who you see: "that's you, and that's me."
4 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Soft, Rough, Cool
Let your baby touch three different safe surfaces — a towel, a wooden spoon, a cool cup. Say the word for each as they touch it.
4 mo – 18 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm
This One or That One?
Hold up two safe objects and let your baby look at or reach for one. Whatever they choose, name it and give it to them.
5 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm
Just One Page
Open a picture book on any page and talk about one picture. Stopping after a page is a complete success.
4 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Three Good Things
At bedtime, name three ordinary things that happened today in a calm voice. It does not matter that your baby cannot answer yet.
2 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · At home · Calm · No materials
One Minute Outside
On an ordinary trip out, stop for a moment and stay still. Let your baby hear whatever is there — traffic, birds, wind — and say what you can hear.
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
A Seat at the Table
If your baby can sit comfortably upright with support, bring them to the table for part of the meal and talk to them between mouthfuls, the way you would to anyone else sitting there. When they look away or fuss, they have had enough of the table.
6 mo – 10 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm · No materials
One Arm at a Time
Before putting on each sleeve, stroke that arm slowly once and say, 'this arm now.' Then dress it, and do the same on the other side.
0 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · At home · Calm · No materials
Keep the Story Going
Start with: "Today we found a tiny elephant in the kitchen…" Each person adds one part of the story.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Where Does This Live?
Pick up one object and ask where it belongs. Walk there together and put it away, then stop. One object is enough.
18 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm · No materials
Big Ones, Small Ones
Put out a handful of safe household objects and sort them into big and small together. Let your child move things between piles.
20 mo – 3 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Hello, Who's Calling?
Hold a block or a banana to your ear and have a short pretend phone call. Pass it to your child and answer them back.
16 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Hidden Under a Cup
Hide a small toy under one of two cups while your child watches, then let them find it. Move slowly enough to be followed.
14 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Find Something Red
Choose a colour and take turns finding things around you in that colour. Three finds is a full game.
2 yr – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
What Was That Sound?
Stop and listen together for a moment, then name one sound each. A car, a bird, the fridge.
22 mo – 6 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
One Line Each
Share one sheet of paper and take turns adding a single line. See what it turns into together.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
One Thing From Outside
On a walk, let your child choose one safe natural thing to bring home — a leaf, a stone — and put it somewhere special.
20 mo – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Through the Slot
Cut a slot in a shoebox lid and let your child post lids or cards through it. Lining the piece up is the interesting part.
15 mo – 3 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
One Word, Right Then
When your child is happy, sad or angry about something, name it with one feeling word in the moment: 'happy', 'sad', 'angry'. Then carry on; they do not need to answer.
13 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
What's Missing?
Put four objects on a tray, look together, then cover them and remove one. What is missing?
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Who Knows Who?
Take turns asking easy questions about each other: favourite food, favourite colour, funniest moment.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Make a Den
Drape a blanket over two chairs and make a small hideaway. Sit inside together for a few minutes.
2 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · At home · Calm
Guess by Touch
Put a familiar object in a bag and let your child feel it through the fabric and guess what it is.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Faces in the Mirror
Stand at a mirror together. Make one face and let your child copy it, then let them make one for you.
2 yr – 3 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Number Spotter
Pick a number — say 3 — and call it out wherever you spot it: a door number, a bus, a price tag. Finding three of something counts too.
4 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Name What You See
When your baby frowns, yawns or brightens, say what you notice: "you look tired", "that made you happy".
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Slow Blinks
Hold your baby's gaze and blink slowly a few times. Watch whether they settle or blink back.
5 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Hold On Tight
Offer your finger for your baby to grip, and talk to them quietly while they hold on. Let them be the one who lets go.
0 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
After the Feed
When your baby is full and calm, hold them upright where they can see your face and tell them what the two of you are doing next. A minute or two is enough.
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
The Floating Scarf
Wave a light scarf slowly above your baby so it rises and falls where they can watch it.
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · At home · Calm
That Crinkly Sound
Scrunch a clean sheet of paper near your baby, then hand it over and let them try to make the sound themselves.
4 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm
Look What I Found
On a walk, stop and point at one thing — a tree, a cat, a bus. Say its name once and give your baby time to look.
4 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Pull It Closer
Put a safe object on a cloth, just out of reach. Leave the near edge of the cloth by your baby's hand and let them discover that pulling brings it closer.
7 mo – 15 mo · 5 min · At home · Calm
Say It Back
When your baby makes a sound, make the same one back. Then add one small change and see whether they follow.
3 mo – 18 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Watch the Branches Move
Sit or stand where your baby can see a tree or a hanging line. Say nothing for a while and let them watch it move.
2 mo – 18 mo · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Humming, Held Close
Hold your baby against your chest and hum one low, slow tune. They feel it as much as they hear it.
0 mo – 6 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Find the Other Sock
While folding laundry, hold up one sock and ask your child to find its pair in the pile.
2 yr – 4 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Cooking for the Toys
Use an empty bowl and spoon to cook a pretend meal together, then serve it to a toy. Ask what is on the menu.
20 mo – 3 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Three Slow Breaths
Before sleep, take three slow breaths together with a hand on your tummies. Make it quiet and unhurried.
2 yr – 6 yr · 2 min · At home · Calm · No materials
A Big Sheet, Two Crayons
Tape a large sheet of paper down and give one chunky crayon each. Make marks alongside each other without asking for anything in particular.
16 mo – 3 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
And Then We…
Start telling something you do every day — "and then we put on our…" — and stop there. Let your child finish it with a word, a sound or a movement.
13 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
I Spy Something…
Take turns describing something you can both see without naming it, until the other person guesses.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Sort by Colour
Sort the clean laundry into two piles by colour together, talking about each choice.
2 yr – 4 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Twenty Questions, Small Version
Think of an animal and let your child ask yes-or-no questions until they guess it. Three questions is plenty at first.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Do Something Kind
Choose one person at home and do one small thing for them together — bring them a glass of water or put their slippers by their chair. One thing is enough.
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm · No materials
Wait for a Bird
Sit by a window or outside and wait quietly until you both see a bird. Then describe it to each other.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Say It How I Say It
Say one everyday word in a whisper, then very slowly, then in a sing-song. Let your child copy each one and then choose the next way.
2 yr – 4 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
A Bridge for the Toy Car
Between two piles of books, build a bridge together that a toy car can cross, using card, books or boxes. If it falls, work out together what to change.
4 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · At home · Calm
Today I Feel…
Name your own feeling first: 'I'm happy today', 'a little sad', 'a little angry'. Then invite your child to choose a word for theirs if they want. One word is enough; they do not need to explain why.
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
You Know What Comes Next
Open a book your child knows well and stop just before a line they can finish. Wait, and let them say it.
3 yr – 4 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Nose, Ear, Toes
While drying your baby after a bath, touch and name three body parts in the same order each time.
9 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · At home · Calm · No materials
How Does That Feel?
Outside, let your baby put a hand on grass, a wall or a smooth stone. Name what it feels like and let them decide how long.
7 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Your Hand on My Cheek
Rest your baby's hand gently against your cheek or jaw and keep talking. Their hand does not need to be open; let them feel the movement as you speak. Stop when they pull away.
0 mo – 6 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
You Carry This One
Give your child one light item to hold while you shop or unpack, and let them put it in the bag or on the shelf.
18 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Put Teddy to Bed
Before your child's own bedtime, put a soft toy to bed together — blanket, goodnight, lights down.
2 yr – 4 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Squeeze and Poke
Give your child a lump of soft dough and squeeze one yourself beside them. No shapes to make and nothing to finish.
18 mo – 4 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
What Happens Next?
Stop halfway through a familiar story and ask your child what happens next. Follow their version, even if it is new.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
The Best Bit of Today
Each say one good moment from today. Small moments count as much as big ones.
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Sing It Wrong on Purpose
Sing a song your child knows but change one word to something silly. Wait for them to correct you.
2 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
You Tell the Story
Open a picture book together and let your child tell you the story from the pictures this time. It does not have to match the words on the page.
4 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm
Hello, Feet
Press your thumb gently along the sole of each foot and name them out loud. Stop the moment they pull away.
0 mo – 4 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Watch the World Go By
Sit on a bench or a step outside and watch what passes — people, cars, a dog. Say what you see and let your child pick the next thing to watch.
12 mo – 4 yr · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
You Set the Table
Ask your child to put one unbreakable item on the table for each person before a meal.
2 yr – 3 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Getting Teddy Ready
Put a hat or a sock on a soft toy and say you are getting it ready to go out. Let your child decide what it still needs.
17 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Draw and Deliver
Draw a small picture together for someone in the family and deliver it to them by hand.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
A Three-Picture Story
Draw one simple picture on each of three pieces of paper — a tree, a cat, a cloud — and let your child put them in any order and tell the story. Then swap two and see how the story changes.
4 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
You Pour, I Hold
Hold a bowl steady and let your child tip a snack into it from a small cup.
16 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Three Stops on the Way
On a walk you are taking anyway, stop three times. Each time, look at one thing properly and say what you notice about it.
2 yr – 3 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
The Toy Asks a Question
Give a soft toy a voice and let it ask your child one thing — what shall we do, or what is that. Answer as yourself.
20 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Tear It, Stick It
Tear an old magazine into pieces together and stick them anywhere on a sheet of paper. There is nothing it is supposed to look like.
2 yr – 5 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
Dry Your Own Arm
After the bath, hand your child the towel and let them dry one part of themselves before you help with the rest.
20 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm
Today's Weather Report
Look out of the window together. Let your child choose one thing about outside — a grey sky, a wet road, branches moving — then announce it in one sentence: "Today…"
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · At home · Calm · No materials
One Job in the Kitchen
Give your child one real job while you cook — washing vegetables, tearing lettuce, stirring a cold bowl.
2 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · At home · Calm
Playing Shop
Line up a few items and take turns being the shopkeeper and the customer. Tear a sheet of paper into large notes to use as money.
3 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · At home · Calm
Shadow Shapes on the Wall
In a dim room, shine a torch and make shadow shapes with your hands. Let your child invent one.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
What Was Next?
While you cook, tell your child the next step and let them remember it. A little later ask, "What was next?" and let them remind you. The recipe can be in your head, on a phone, or on a card.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm
You Plan the Job
Pick one small household job — setting the table or sorting the toy shelf — and let your child tell you the steps: what first, what next. Follow their plan step by step, asking questions if you need to.
4 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · At home · Calm · No materials