Does your little one zoom around the house like a tiny tornado? At 14 months, babies are curious explorers ready to touch, taste, and test everything in sight.

This magical age brings new skills almost daily—from wobbly first steps to pointing at objects they want.

But keeping up with your busy toddler can be hard. Many parents wonder what to do all day with their energetic little ones.

Don’t worry! This guide offers 50 simple, fun activities that help your child learn while they play. These ideas use items you already have at home and fit easily into your day.

Your toddler doesn’t need fancy toys or complicated games. What they need is you—and some thoughtful playtime. Ready to make everyday moments count?

Activities for Your 14-Month-Old

At 14 months, your baby is curious and full of energy! These simple activities keep them entertained while helping with their growth and development.

Try these fun ideas to engage your little one and make learning an enjoyable part of their day.

1. Peek-a-boo

How to play: Cover your face with your hands or a cloth, and then reveal yourself with a “peek-a-boo!” expression.

Learning: Peek-a-boo enhances cognitive skills by teaching your baby about object permanence—the idea that things exist even when they can’t be seen.

Additional tips:

• Change the tone of your voice to add excitement.
• Use toys or objects and hide them to extend the activity.
• Try “peek-a-boo” with different family members or toys to increase engagement.

2. Stack blocks

How to play: Show them how to stack blocks one by one, encouraging them to copy you. You can also cheer when they complete the stack!

Learning: Stacking blocks promotes problem-solving skills and helps your child learn about balance and structure.

Additional tips:

• Start with larger, softer blocks for easier stacking.
• Use blocks of different colors to teach color recognition.
• As your child becomes more adept, introduce new shapes to the stack.

3. Sing rhymes

How to play: Sing simple rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” clapping along or using hand motions to engage them.

Learning: Singing rhymes develops early language skills, including listening and speech, while also teaching rhythm and memory.

Additional tips:

• Add hand gestures or actions to the rhymes to encourage physical involvement.
• Use props like soft toys or puppets to make it more interactive.
• Repeat the same rhymes to help with word recognition.

4. Read books

How to play: Sit with your child on your lap and read colorful, interactive books. Encourage them to turn pages or point to pictures.

Learning: Reading together helps build vocabulary, comprehension, and an early love for books.

Additional tips:

• Choose books with different textures or flaps to lift for extra engagement.
• Let your child pick the book, which fosters independence and interest in reading.
• Use different voices for characters to make the story more engaging.

5. Texture toys

How to play: Allow your child to feel toys with different textures, such as soft, bumpy, or smooth. Gently guide their hand to explore the surface.

Learning: Sensory toys help children explore the world around them, enhancing sensory development and fine motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Rotate the toys to keep your child’s interest high.
• Introduce textured materials from around the house, like soft fabrics or sponges.
• Talk about the textures as your child touches them (e.g., “This one is soft,” or “This one is bumpy”).

6. Roll a ball

How to play: Sit on the floor with your baby, roll the ball to them, and encourage them to roll it back to you.

Learning: Rolling a ball encourages your baby to practice motor skills, such as tracking, reaching, and coordination.

Additional tips:

• Start with a larger, softer ball for easier handling.
• Try rolling the ball down a gentle slope or incline for added challenge.
• You can also introduce a variety of balls in different sizes to develop grasping skills.

7. Finger painting

How to play: Set up a safe, washable area, and let your child dip their fingers in the paint to create their masterpiece.

Learning: Finger painting fosters creativity, color recognition, and fine motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Use non-toxic, washable paints to ensure safety during the activity.
• Provide large sheets of paper or a canvas for them to explore freely.
• Introduce different color combinations to explore blending.

8. Clap to rhythm

How to play: Clap your hands to a simple beat, and encourage your child to clap along with you.

Learning: Clapping to rhythm helps develop listening skills and an understanding of timing and coordination.

Additional tips:

• Add instruments like maracas or tambourines for extra rhythm fun.
• Clap slowly to help them follow along at first, then gradually increase the tempo.
• Incorporate different types of music to expose them to diverse rhythms.

9. Build a fort

How to play: Use cushions, blankets, and furniture to create a safe, enclosed space. Let your child crawl inside and explore the fort.

Learning: Fort-building encourages imagination and problem-solving as your child creates a world of their own.

Additional tips:

• Allow your child to help with building the fort, fostering collaboration.
• Use fairy lights or soft pillows to make the space cozy and inviting.
• Once the fort is built, encourage quiet time or storytelling inside.

10. Shape sorter

How to play: Present the shape sorter and guide your child to insert the correct shape in the matching hole.

Learning: Shape sorting enhances cognitive development by teaching spatial relationships and improving motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Start with simpler shapes and gradually introduce more complex ones.
• Name the shapes and colors as your child places them in the correct holes.
• Celebrate when they succeed to build their confidence and motivation.

11. Water play

How to play: Fill a small basin with water and provide cups or toys for your child to splash and pour water with.

Learning: Water play introduces concepts like cause and effect, volume, and basic physics.

Additional tips:

• Add floating toys or cups that can be filled with water for added exploration.
• Encourage your child to pour water from one container to another to practice hand-eye coordination.
• Try adding safe, colorful objects to the water to increase visual engagement.

12. Dance & sing

How to play: Put on a favorite song, move with your child, and encourage them to clap, jump, or wiggle along.

Learning: Dance and singing help develop motor coordination and auditory processing skills.

Additional tips:

• Incorporate basic dance moves or clapping as your child’s coordination improves.
• You can also introduce songs in different languages or with different rhythms to expand their musical awareness.
• Add scarves or ribbons to the dance for more visual excitement.

13. This Little Piggy

How to play: Gently wiggle each of your child’s toes as you say the nursery rhyme “This Little Piggy.”

Learning: This activity teaches body awareness and introduces early concepts of sequence and rhythm.

Additional tips:

• As your baby becomes familiar with the rhyme, you can start to count their toes or fingers for added learning.
• The repetition of the rhyme helps strengthen memory and recognition.

14. Sensory bin

How to play: Fill a container with rice, sand, or fabric, and place safe objects for your child to discover and explore.

Learning: Sensory bins improve tactile skills and cognitive development by encouraging exploration and problem-solving.

Additional tips:

• Change the contents of the sensory bin based on the season or your child’s interests—use leaves in fall, or sand in the summer.
• You can also introduce small toys or objects to hide and find for added fun.
• Make the bin multi-sensory with a variety of textures, colors, and objects.

15. Play with kitchen items

How to play: Give your child safe kitchen items to explore, like plastic spoons, measuring cups, or bowls, and let them create their own games.

Learning: Kitchen items help children become familiar with real-world objects and enhance motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Introduce measuring cups, spoons, or small plastic containers for your child to explore.
• Use these items to teach your child about size and volume.
• Create a pretend cooking game where your child “cooks” with the kitchen items.

16. Animal pictures

How to play: Look at animal picture books together, making the sounds of the animals as you point them out.

Learning: Identifying animals helps build vocabulary and improves memory recall.

Additional tips:

• You can use animal figurines to reinforce the learning and teach about animal sounds.
• Ask your child to mimic the sounds, which adds an element of fun and interaction.
• Use flashcards or interactive apps to help them match the animal sounds to the images.

17. Stack cups

How to play: Stack the cups into a tower and encourage your child to try it themselves.

Learning: Stacking cups promotes problem-solving, spatial awareness, and early math concepts.

Additional tips:

• Incorporate colors and sizes into the stacking process, helping your child learn about size comparison and sorting.
• Encourage them to knock down the tower and start again, which teaches them perseverance.
• Use transparent cups so your child can see the layers they build.

18. Baby mirror play

How to play: Sit with your baby in front of a mirror and let them explore their reflection while smiling or making faces.

Learning: Mirror play helps develop self-recognition and social-emotional awareness.

Additional tips:

• Encourage your child to make faces or copy your expressions in the mirror.
• Hold up toys or familiar objects in front of the mirror to help your baby recognize objects.
• Let your child touch their reflection to build their sense of self.

19. Crayon drawing

How to play: Offer your baby some crayons and a sheet of paper, and encourage them to scribble or draw.

Learning: Crayon drawing helps build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and creativity.

Additional tips:

• Provide large, easy-to-hold crayons or markers for little hands.
• Ask them to draw shapes or things they recognize, like their favorite animals.
• Create a dedicated space for them to draw and leave it out for free exploration.

20. Bubble popping

How to play: Blow bubbles and encourage your child to pop them.

Learning: Bubble play teaches tracking skills, hand-eye coordination, and cause-and-effect relationships.

Additional tips:

• Try using different-sized bubbles for added fun.
• Encourage your child to chase the bubbles to enhance their gross motor skills.
• Introduce different bubble-blowing tools like bubble wands or bubble machines to mix things up.

21. Toy or doll play

How to play: Encourage your child to play with their favorite doll or stuffed toy, interacting with it through simple activities like feeding or putting it to sleep.

Learning: Doll play promotes social-emotional development and helps your child learn empathy and role-playing.

Additional tips:

• Ask your child to act out simple scenarios, like feeding or dressing the doll, to build their imagination.
• Use dolls with different outfits and accessories to encourage creativity.
• Create a small “home” for the dolls using blocks or furniture to foster pretend play.

22. Explore houseplants

How to play: Let your child touch and examine safe houseplants, showing them how plants grow and how to take care of them.

Learning: Exploring plants introduces your child to nature and teaches them basic biology and responsibility.

Additional tips:

• Choose non-toxic plants for safety.
• Talk about how plants grow and the importance of watering them.
• Introduce simple plant care routines like watering once a week together.

23. Build a puzzle

How to play: Present simple, large-piece puzzles and encourage your child to fit the pieces together.

Learning: Puzzles promote problem-solving skills and hand-eye coordination.

Additional tips:

• Start with puzzles that have pictures or patterns to help your child recognize how pieces fit together.
• Encourage your child to sort the pieces by shape or color before assembling them.
• Celebrate each small achievement to keep them motivated.

24. Roll toy cars

How to play: Roll toy cars or trucks along the floor and encourage your child to push them back and forth.

Learning: Rolling toy cars strengthens motor skills and teaches about movement and direction.

Additional tips:

• Create a “road” by laying down tape or using books to make a fun track.
• Add ramps or obstacles to increase the challenge as your child’s motor skills improve.
• Use different vehicles like buses or trucks to expand the play experience.

25. Hide & reveal toys

How to play: Hide toys under a cloth and encourage your child to find them by lifting the cloth or looking under the objects.

Learning: This game helps develop problem-solving skills and object permanence.

Additional tips:

• Use different fabrics or objects to hide the toys to make it more challenging.
• Encourage your child to help hide the toys, fostering their involvement.
• Gradually increase the number of objects hidden to challenge their memory and attention.

26. Play musical instruments

How to play: Let your child play with a toy tambourine, drum, or maracas, making sounds by shaking or tapping.

Learning: Playing musical instruments helps develop auditory skills and introduces rhythm and coordination.

Additional tips:

• Introduce different types of instruments to expose them to various sounds.
• Use simple tunes or beats and encourage your child to mimic them.
• Incorporate dancing while playing to add a physical element to the activity.

27. Stack favorite toys

How to play: Arrange their favorite toys into stacks or towers and let your child try stacking them on their own.

Learning: Stacking toys promotes motor coordination, spatial awareness, and patience.

Additional tips:

• Use toys of various sizes to teach your child about balance and order.
• Make stacking a collaborative game by doing it together, encouraging teamwork.
• Once the stack is built, let your child knock it over to practice cause and effect.

28. Cause-and-effect toys

How to play: Introduce toys that produce sounds, lights, or movement when interacted with, such as toys with buttons or switches.

Learning: Cause-and-effect toys teach your child how their actions lead to results, reinforcing their understanding of the world around them.

Additional tips:

• Show your child how to use the toy and let them explore it on their own.
• Encourage them to repeat actions to see the outcome, reinforcing their learning.
• Gradually introduce more complex cause-and-effect toys as their understanding grows.

29. Fabric swatch play

How to play: Provide a collection of fabric swatches with different textures and colors for your child to feel and explore.

Learning: This activity improves tactile discrimination and sensory development.

Additional tips:

• Let your child match fabrics by color or texture to foster categorization skills.
• Add a variety of natural and synthetic fabrics to give your child a broad sensory experience.
• Talk about the textures and colors as they touch each one to increase vocabulary.

30. Toy drum play

How to play: Encourage your child to hit a toy drum with their hands or a small stick, producing sound and rhythm.

Learning: Playing with a drum helps develop rhythm, hand-eye coordination, and motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Vary the sounds by using different objects to tap the drum.
• Introduce simple rhythms for your child to copy.
• Combine drumming with singing or dancing for a full sensory experience.

31. Crawling race

How to play: Sit on the floor and encourage your child to crawl toward you. Cheer them on as they move to make the race exciting.

Learning: Crawling races help develop gross motor skills, strengthen muscles, and enhance coordination.

Additional tips:

• Add obstacles like pillows or toys to make the race more challenging.
• Start the race slowly, and gradually increase the distance as your child’s crawling improves.
• You can use a favorite toy as a reward at the finish line for motivation.

32. Toy animals

How to play: Let your child play with toy animals, encouraging them to act out different movements or sounds of each animal.

Learning: Playing with toy animals helps with language development, role play, and learning about different creatures.

Additional tips:

• Introduce the names of animals and their sounds to build vocabulary.
• Use toy animals in storytelling to foster creativity.
• Group the animals by type (farm, jungle, ocean) for themed play.

33. Explore purse items

How to play: Give your child a few safe items from your purse or bag, such as a wallet or a soft tissue, and let them explore.

Learning: This activity enhances your child’s curiosity and helps them explore real-world objects.

Additional tips:

• Ensure all items are baby-safe and soft to avoid any hazards.
• Ask them to identify items as they explore, like “This is your wallet!”
• Introduce new items from your purse regularly to keep their interest piqued.

34. Pat-a-cake

How to play: Play the classic “Pat-a-cake” rhyme, clapping your hands together while singing the song to your baby.

Learning: Pat-a-cake helps with rhythm, hand-eye coordination, and motor skill development.

Additional tips:

• Encourage your baby to clap along or mimic the movements.
• Add hand motions to accompany the rhyme to increase engagement.
• As your baby grows, teach them to clap the rhythm to develop coordination further.

35. Walk around

How to play: Walk with your child holding their hands, allowing them to feel the sensation of walking and building their strength.

Learning: Walking encourages balance, motor skills, and the development of leg muscles.

Additional tips:

• Try different surfaces for walking (e.g., soft carpet or hard floor) to challenge balance.
• Once your child is confident, encourage them to take steps independently.
• Make it fun by walking around the house or outdoors to explore new spaces.

36. Imitate animal sounds

How to play: Make animal sounds and encourage your child to imitate them. For example, say “roar like a lion” and “oink like a pig.”

Learning: Imitating sounds helps with auditory development and language acquisition.

Additional tips:

• Introduce a variety of animals to keep the activity exciting and educational.
• Use toys or stuffed animals to demonstrate the animal sounds.
• Celebrate when they successfully imitate a sound to encourage learning.

37. Finger puppets

How to play: Use finger puppets to tell a simple story or interact with your child, making them laugh or smile.

Learning: Finger puppet play promotes imagination, social skills, and emotional development.

Additional tips:

• Use puppets to role-play everyday scenarios, like going to the park or having lunch.
• Let your child “talk” through the puppet to enhance interactive play.
• Change the voices of the puppets to keep them engaged.

38. Draw shapes

How to play: Draw shapes on a surface and help your child trace over them with their fingers or crayons.

Learning: Drawing shapes helps develop fine motor skills and introduces early math concepts.

Additional tips:

• Use large, colorful shapes to catch their attention.
• Name the shapes and talk about their features (e.g., “This is a circle, it is round”).
• Gradually introduce more complex shapes as their motor skills improve.

39. Play with stacking rings

How to play: Show your child how to stack the rings from biggest to smallest, encouraging them to try it themselves.

Learning: Stacking rings teaches problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and fine motor development.

Additional tips:

• Use rings of different colors to help with color recognition.
• Gradually encourage your child to try stacking them on their own.
• Talk about the size difference as you stack the rings.

40. Jump on a trampoline

How to play: Hold your child’s hands while they jump gently on a small, soft trampoline.

Learning: Jumping helps develop balance, coordination, and leg strength.

Additional tips:

• Use a trampoline with safety handles for extra support.
• Cheer them on to motivate them to jump higher.
• Jump alongside them to encourage fun and bonding.

41. Play with a toy vacuum

How to play: Give your child a toy vacuum to mimic you while you clean the floor.

Learning: Pretend cleaning promotes role play, social-emotional development, and motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Let them push the vacuum back and forth to practice coordination.
• Show them how the toy “sucks” up small objects for added interaction.
• Talk about cleaning to expand vocabulary.

42. Play with nesting cups

How to play: Show your child how to stack or nest the cups inside one another.

Learning: Nesting cups help with problem-solving, spatial relationships, and size comparison.

Additional tips:

• Use cups of various sizes to teach the concept of big and small.
• Let your child explore different ways of stacking and arranging them.
• Introduce water play by filling the cups and pouring them out.

43. Hide-and-seek with a stuffed toy

How to play: Hide a stuffed toy under a blanket or pillow and encourage your child to find it.

Learning: This game promotes object permanence and problem-solving.

Additional tips:

• Let your child hide the toy and help you find it to encourage participation.
• Start with easier hiding spots and increase difficulty as they learn.
• Talk about the color or size of the toy during the game.

44. Sensory path play

How to play: Create a sensory path using different textured materials like mats, towels, and fabric for your child to walk on.

Learning: Sensory paths enhance tactile exploration, balance, and motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Include different textures like soft, bumpy, or rough for varied sensory input.
• Let your child explore each texture at their own pace.
• Encourage them to walk or crawl along the path to develop movement skills.

45. Sorting toys by color or shape

How to play: Give your child toys in different colors or shapes and encourage them to sort them into groups.

Learning: Sorting helps with cognitive skills, color recognition, and early math concepts.

Additional tips:

• Start with a small number of toys for simplicity.
• Use simple shapes and primary colors for easy sorting.
• Make the activity fun by naming the colors and shapes as they sort.

46. Play with a ball pit

How to play: Set up a small ball pit with soft plastic balls and let your child play and explore.

Learning: Playing in a ball pit helps develop gross motor skills, coordination, and sensory processing.

Additional tips:

• Keep the pit small and soft to ensure safety.
• Hide toys or objects in the ball pit for extra fun.
• Encourage your child to throw or toss the balls to work on hand-eye coordination.

47. Plant seeds together

How to play: Let your child help plant seeds in a small pot or garden and water them together.

Learning: Planting seeds introduces your child to nature, growth, and responsibility.

Additional tips:

• Choose fast-growing plants like beans for quick results.
• Use colorful pots to add visual interest.
• Let your child help water the plants regularly to teach care routines.

48. Build a tower with blocks

How to play: Build a simple tower using large blocks, then encourage your child to try building one themselves.

Learning: Tower building enhances problem-solving, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.

Additional tips:

• Start with larger blocks for easier stacking.
• Celebrate when they build their first tower to encourage confidence.
• Knock down the tower and build it again to teach cause and effect.

49. Follow-the-leader game

How to play: Take turns being the leader, performing simple actions like clapping, stomping, or jumping, and have your child mimic you.

Learning: Following the leader helps with motor coordination, attention, and social skills.

Additional tips:

• Start with simple actions and gradually increase difficulty.
• Use different types of movement, such as walking or spinning.
• Celebrate their efforts to reinforce participation.

50. Clean-up play

How to play: Encourage your child to help you clean up their toys by placing them in baskets or boxes.

Learning: Clean-up play promotes responsibility, organizational skills, and fine motor skills.

Additional tips:

• Make clean-up time a fun game by setting a timer or singing a clean-up song.
• Give them smaller tasks to make them feel accomplished (e.g., “Can you put the blocks in the box?”).
• Praise them for helping to reinforce positive behavior.

Final Thoughts!

Watching your 14-month-old learn through play is one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent. These activities give you plenty of options to fill your days with fun and learning.

Remember, the best moments often happen during simple, everyday play. Your toddler doesn’t need perfect setups or expensive toys—just your time and attention.

Start with activities that match your child’s current interests. Is your little one into dropping things? Try the container games. Do you love making noise? The musical activities might be a hit.

Which activity will you try first? Take a photo of your toddler enjoying these games and share it with us, Or leave a comment below telling us which worked best for your little explorer.

Happy playing!