Toddlers are noisy! These 19 quiet toddler toys will keep them shushed and busy during church or travel – at least for a bit!
After all, while it is so much fun to hear our little ones learn how to talk, there are times, like during worship services, airplane trips, or long car rides when we really need our toddlers to be quiet. They can do it! The trick is to find engaging toys and books that capture their interest and rotate them frequently. As in every few minutes!
Yes, mama, little ones can be taught how to sit quietly. Bringing them to church with you even when you are horribly distracted is a sweet sacrifice to God that will reap great rewards one day! You are teaching valuable lessons and growing a little heart for the Lord. Don’t give up! Try out some of these ideas:
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Quiet Toddler Toys for Church or Travel
1. Melissa & Doug On the Go Water WOW Reveal Pad
These drawing pads are magical! There’s a little pen filled with water. Just swipe (aka scribble) to color the page. Each page dries clean and is completely reusable! There is a Bible version as well as other themes such as farm, safari, fairies, vehicles, and dinosaurs. A big hit with toddlers!
2. Color Wonder
Similar concepts, but Color Wonder sheets are like coloring pages. They are not reusable. But the blessing of this product is that the markers can only work on the special paper. No mess! No accidentally marking the Bible or your pretty clothes! That’s a win!
3. Buckle Toy
This toy keeps my little one busy for quite a while! There are several different types of buckles to work, plus a little zipper pocket to open and close. A true winner – always a favorite! It is not too large, but soft and slips easily into your quiet bag. There are different color versions available.
4. Finger Puppets
Little ones love tiny finger puppets. Besides being excellent fine motor practice sliding one puppet onto each finger, toddlers just seem to love these little things! There are many types of finger puppets available, but we like to bring Bible-characters when we head to church. A word of advice, get a tiny zip bag to keep your finger puppets in and only bring 5 – enough for 1 hand. Otherwise these quiet toddler toys just end up dumped all over the floor and get lost.
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5. Magnadoodle
Scribble, scribble! A small, travel size magnadoodle is such scribbling fun! Little ones always enjoy quiet toddler toys where they can imitate writing! Lots and fun and sure to keep them busy. This one is not too large, making it just right to fit into your bag of quiet toddler toys!
6. Board books
Stash several board books or cloth books into your quiet bag! Toddlers love turning the pages and looking at pictures. This just-released book, Love, by Casey Rislov, is a darling story taken straight from 1 Corinthians 13. Endearing pictures of a loving owl family demonstrate how little ones can give and receive love in their own lives. This book is one of our new favorites! Precious to read together at home, it also makes a great addition to your quiet toddler toys!
7. Coloring
Some toddlers love to color! Others just pitch the crayons on the floor. Eh. Try different types of crayons: chunky ones, skinny ones, roll-up ones, or colored pencils. Triangular crayons are my pick for church and other quiet places because they don’t roll away when dropped. And they will be dropped, I promise! No need for fancy coloring books yet, just a simple blank notebook from the dollar store is a great place for toddlers to scribble!
8. Stickers
My toddlers always enjoy sticking stickers onto paper. It doesn’t much matter what’s on the stickers, but there are so many cute ones out there. Address labels or masking tape work just fine, too. Little ones just like to peel and stick. However, I have found that larger stickers work best for little hands. Puffy stickers or foam stickers that are easy to grab are also good choices. I love these stickers because they are on a roll, which makes for easy transport, super cute little animal faces, and they are large enough for little hands!
9. Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pads
These bright, engaging sticker pads are reusable and offer lots of entertainment! There are many different Bible stories included as well as other versions you can purchase such as animals, vehicles, and ballerinas. The only down size to these is that they are large and won’t fit into a standard size backpack. If you’re quiet bag is a large tote bag, though, this might be the perfect fit!
READ: 11 Surprising Chores for Toddlers
10. Interactive Bible Quiet Book
A cloth, interactive quiet Bible book has been one of my kids’ favorite church books. Sadly, I can no longer find the exact book we have for sale anymore! However, this one looks very similar to it. Reviewing several Bible stories, there is something engaging for toddlers on every page! So, it keeps their interest for longer than you would think!
11. Lift the Flap Bible
Another favorite quiet toddler toy has been their lift-the-flap Bible. I don’t know what it is about little flaps, but toddlers love them! It’s like the book is playing peek-a-boo with you! Make sure you have at least one lift-the-flap book tucked into your church bag.
12. Cloth Quiet Books for Toddlers
There are many varieties of quiet books for toddlers! Some teach concepts like tying shoes and buttoning buttons, but I find those don’t hold the attention of very young toddlers. Save them for a year or two down the road! The youngest toddlers enjoy books where they can put things in and pull things out. This one is even personalized with their name or your family’s last name. The only down side to some quiet books is that there can be many pieces to lose. Just make sure you do a quick sweep of the floor before you go!
13. LCD Writing & Drawing Tablet
Similar to a Magnadoodle, these amazing boards are battery operated but do not make a sound. The toddler can scribble all over then it erases with the push of a button! The board on this one is black and the writing comes out in multi-colors. My little one loves to scribble on her LCD board! This has been a huge hit with my toddler as well as older kids, too.
14. Snacks
When all else fails, pull out the snacks! One of the best ways to keep little mouths quiet is to keep them munching! I never want to bring anything messy, so we usually stick to a little snack container full of Cheerios or other dried cereal. When my toddler is fussy or we have to zip off to church as soon as she has woken up from a nap, snacks are a life-saver!
15. Little Folk Bible Story Felt Kits
Felt story pieces make for super quiet play! I love this set because it comes with 33 felt pieces in a book format that fits easily into your quiet toddler toys bag. But if you prefer, you can also find small felt boards and there are many different Bible stories available in felt. I have also found secular felt stories such as Little Red Riding Hood or Princesses in places like the Target Dollar Spot that make for fabulous quiet play.
16. Little Baby Bible
We have always kept a little baby Bible in our toddlers’ church bags. Little ones love to imitate, so as they see you and others reading your Bible, they will want to do the same. They will love to pat it and rub it and turn all the pages. Just keep those crayons away while the Bible is out! Plus, most baby Bibles comes in a little box. If you save the box, your toddler will have lots of fun opening and closing it and putting the Bible in and out over and over.
17. Small Dolls, Cars, & Other Toys
You can also keep little ones busy with small toys, about the size that fits in their hands. My little ones have all enjoyed babies so they like to hold onto a Barbie baby during church services. We also often bring along a toy car or train that toddlers like to roll up and down their legs (or your arm). Just don’t bring toys that roll like a ball (ask me how I know!) or anything you think they will want to throw (yep, been there, done that, too.) The key here is only to bring 1 or 2 small toys.
18. Touch & Feel Books
Toddlers are very tactile! They like to finger and touch everything, so engage their curiosity with touch & feel books! We have several of these and rotate them through the quiet bag so there is something new to explore.
19. Slide & Find Books
A variation on interactive board books, slide & find books have pictures hidden behind a little door that your toddler slides to the side to see what is beneath. My son loved this truck book and we had a couple of other animal versions of the same concept. It keeps small hands occupied and little minds busy!
Quiet Toddler Toys Save the Day!
The key to good quiet toddler toys is VARIETY and QUANTITY.
Don’t bring too many little toys – only 1 or 2. Anything more and your little one will get overwhelmed and want to slide off their seat to play. Instead, bring a variety of cloth or board books, paper, crayons, stickers, or scribbling toys along with some Cheerios and their little Bible. Not too much, but just enough to keep your little one engaged!
Change out the contents of your quiet bag frequently so there is something new and surprising inside. Set those books and toys aside so that your toddler only sees them when you go to church. That way, they are special and will capture their attention. Lean into their curiosity!
Remember: Busy fingers + busy minds = a quiet toddler.
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