Baby Play Ideas: Our Favourite Un-Toy! Fun for Older Bubs & Toddlers

ByChristie Burnett Updated on

AJ recently started raiding the nappy bag at every opportunity in search of my purse. Once found she would proceed to pull each and every thing out of it. It was fun…the first, second and third times but by the tenth time I finally got my act together and organised her a purse all of her own.

Baby play ideas @Childhood101 - the play purse

I found one of my old purses, choosing one with lots of pockets and credit card slots. I added a collection of cards for her to explore – old plastic store cards and business cards that I covered with clear, self adhesive book covering.

Baby play ideas @Childhood101 - the play purse

I also printed out some family photos at credit card size and covered them also with the book covering. You could also laminate the cards, just be sure to round off any sharp corners.

Baby play @Childhood101 - play purse

She loves pulling them out, looking at the pictures, pointing to each family member. Then she asks for them to be put back into the slots in her purse so that she can start all over again.

What is your baby’s favourite un-toy?

For more great play ideas check out the Zero to Two: A Book of Play eBook.

activities for babies and toddlers

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, author and mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to find engaging, high quality learning ideas.

17 Comments

  1. My girls still love this ‘toy’ and it has become a staple in the dress up trolley now! They both know exactly what goes into their own purse too! Your little model is just too sweet and having such fun…such a good idea!

  2. What a great idea Christie. I definitely have to do this as well as my little boy makes a beeline for my wallet anytime he spots it and pulls every last thing out. My son is 19 months old and unlike my other two children he only seems to be interested in ‘un toys’. If it is something laying around the house that is not a toy he is into it.

    I have a container with un toys like old kitchen bits and pieces (saucepan, measuring cups, mixing spoons etc) which always keeps him entertained for a while.

  3. That’s adorable. Now you just have to a cell phone to the wallet and she will be all set. (all babies love cell phones)

  4. Wallets are the best and with the photos!??! So great! P.S. Why do little ones grow so quick? I could of swore you just had a baby!

  5. This is such a fabulous idea! It’s fun & interesting for her, helps develop fine motor skills, reinforces family identification, and so much more. I made a little plastic-covered photo collection for my daughter when she was a baby/toddler and included pictures of family, zoo animals we had visited, and familiar places. It was one of her favorite “toys” to pull out, and it would allow us to talk about all kinds of things and events — really great for language development. I never thought of the wallet! That would have made it even more fun for her.

    Other favorite non-toys of hers were cardboard boxes of course, and like Lynda, we kept a container (a drawer in the kitchen) with inexpensive extra measuring spoons & cups, muffin tins, etc. that were always available to her. Also, washed out recyclable plastic cups and containers of any sort (butter tubs, deli containers, etc.) have been hugely popular with my daughter for many years now — at seven she still uses them as feeding bowls for stuffed animals, doll bathtubs or beds, mud pie mixing bowls, paintbrush rinse cups, and much more.

    I always love visiting your site — so many great ideas. Thank you for all that you share!

  6. Margaret Elvis says:

    We spend a fortune these days on toys for children but very frequently simple little things are often more popular than those expensive ones. My son loved to take off the saucepan lids and put them back on when he was 12 months plus. He eventually became a mechanical fitter so perhaps was showing off his dexterity even at that young age.

  7. Love this idea!! My 12 month old has been ignoring her toys in favor of anything else she can get ahold of. She would love this!

  8. What a great idea! I can’t wait to make one of these for my daughter – I can see her playing with it for hours. She’s at the stage now where so loves to find herself in pictures. Thanks for your great imagination!

  9. This is simply genius!!

  10. Great idea! I recently came across some empty wallets (long story) and this would be a great use for them!!

  11. Brilliant! I have always just saved empty gift cards and put them in an old wallet. I never thought about laminating pictures too. I will be pinning.

  12. Our favorite “untoy” is a salad spinner! She thought it was interesting so we taught her how to use it…. Now, we take anything that will fit for a spin! Entertainment for hours!

  13. Pingback: Today’s Hint: 4 Great Non-Toy Toys for Toddlers – Hint Mama
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  16. I absolutely LOVE this idea! The problem is most of my pictures are stuck in digital files…time to get to printing because I really want to do this 🙂

    1. I have that problem too, Clarissa, but the smile on AJ’s face when she is looking through her photos is priceless. So worth the effort 🙂

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