Toddler activities with a laundry basket
11 activities in the library use a laundry basket, for toddlers aged 12 to 36 months: 4 starting 12–17 months, 3 starting 18–23 months and 4 starting from 24 months. A sturdy, light container a toddler can push across the floor, climb into with you close by, fill with balls or tip out. Its open weave also makes a peek-through hiding place.
Updated
Laundry basket: 11 activities to try
Safety: Use a basket without broken plastic edges or gaps big enough to trap a hand or foot.
11 activities
- In and Out Basket Climb 12–20 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Active Your toddler climbs into and out of an empty laundry basket and drops a ball in and out, hearing 'in' and 'out' tied to their own body.
- Toe-Tug Sock Off 12–20 months · 2–5 min · Indoors · Calm Your child pulls off a loosened sock and drops it in the laundry basket, an early way to help with undressing and follow a gesture-supported request.
- Cars Here, Blocks There Tidy-Up 16–26 months · 3–8 min · Indoors · Active At tidy-up time, toy cars go into one container and blocks into another, so putting toys away becomes your toddler's first two-group sort.
- Laundry-Basket Ball Toss 17–28 months · 5–12 min · Indoors or out · Active The child stands near an empty laundry basket and throws soft balls into it, practicing letting go at the right moment and taking turns with an adult.
- Big Sock, Little Sock Sort 18–28 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm From a heap of clean laundry, your toddler sorts grown-up socks from their own small socks into two piles, hearing 'big' and 'little' with real things.
- Laundry Basket Sock Hunt 18–28 months · 5–12 min · Indoors · Calm Your child digs through a basket of clean laundry to find the socks, hands them over and helps lay out pairs, joining a real household job.
- Sock Pair Detective 22–34 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm Your toddler hunts through a small spread of clean socks to find matching pairs, starting with very different socks and moving on to closer lookalikes.
- Rolled-Sock Snowball Throw 24–34 months · 5–12 min · Indoors · Active The child throws rolled-up sock balls overhand into a laundry basket from a few steps away, practicing an overhand throw indoors with soft, safe snowballs.
- Silly Sock Directions 24–34 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Active Give playful two-step directions with a pile of socks, like "put a sock on your head, then jump", building listening through giggles instead of tests.
- Sock Hang-Up on the Basket 26–36 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm On laundry day, your child clips matching pairs of clean socks to the rim of the laundry basket with clothespins, like hanging washing to dry.
- Washcloth Fold and Stack 26–36 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm Your child folds square washcloths in half by matching corners and stacks them, helping with laundry while hearing words like corner, half and on top.
Nothing matches these filters. Try another age band or "Anywhere".
Laundry Basket at a glance
| Activities | 11, 6 on the low-prep menu |
|---|---|
| Ages covered (corrected) | 12–36 months |
| Focus time | 2–12 minutes |
| Main domains | 4 early concepts, 4 practical life, 2 gross motor and 1 language |
| Where they happen | 10 indoors and 1 indoors or outdoors |
| Quickest start | Toe-Tug Sock Off, 2–5 minutes |
Every activity with a laundry basket
Sorted by the first month each one fits (corrected age for children born early). Quick picks: for a calm moment, Toe-Tug Sock Off; to burn energy, In and Out Basket Climb; with no prep at all, Cars Here, Blocks There Tidy-Up.
| Activity | Ages | Minutes | Domain | Prep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In and Out Basket Climb | 12–20 months | 5–10 | Early concepts | None |
| Toe-Tug Sock Off | 12–20 months | 2–5 | Practical life | None |
| Cars Here, Blocks There Tidy-Up | 16–26 months | 3–8 | Early concepts | None |
| Laundry-Basket Ball Toss | 17–28 months | 5–12 | Gross motor | None |
| Big Sock, Little Sock Sort | 18–28 months | 5–10 | Early concepts | None |
| Laundry Basket Sock Hunt | 18–28 months | 5–12 | Practical life | None |
| Sock Pair Detective | 22–34 months | 5–10 | Early concepts | 2 min |
| Rolled-Sock Snowball Throw | 24–34 months | 5–12 | Gross motor | 2 min |
| Silly Sock Directions | 24–34 months | 5–10 | Language | 2 min |
| Sock Hang-Up on the Basket | 26–36 months | 5–10 | Practical life | None |
| Washcloth Fold and Stack | 26–36 months | 5–10 | Practical life | None |
How each activity uses a laundry basket
- In and Out Basket Climb (spatial words, 5–10 minutes): Set the empty basket on a rug, drop the ball in and say 'In!'.
- Toe-Tug Sock Off (helping with dressing, 2–5 minutes): Point to the basket, say "Sock in," and wait for the drop.
- Cars Here, Blocks There Tidy-Up (sorting, 3–8 minutes): Put the laundry basket and a second bin side by side and say 'Cars here, blocks there.'.
- Laundry-Basket Ball Toss (throwing a ball, 5–12 minutes): Put the basket one big step in front of the child and hold up a ball.
- Big Sock, Little Sock Sort (size words, 5–10 minutes): Tip clean socks out of the laundry basket onto the floor or a low bed.
- Laundry Basket Sock Hunt (household helping, 5–12 minutes): Sit on the floor with the clean laundry basket between you.
- Sock Pair Detective (matching, 5–10 minutes): Pick three very different pairs from the laundry basket and spread the six socks out on the floor.
- Rolled-Sock Snowball Throw (throwing a ball, 5–12 minutes): Roll the socks into tight balls and put the basket three big steps away.
- Silly Sock Directions (following two-step directions, 5–10 minutes): Pile rolled socks next to a laundry basket and sit facing your child.
- Sock Hang-Up on the Basket (household helping, 5–10 minutes): Put the clean socks in a pile next to the empty laundry basket.
- Washcloth Fold and Stack (household helping, 5–10 minutes): The laundry basket they came out of.
By age
12–17 months: 4 activities, 2–12 minutes. 18–23 months: 3 activities, 5–12 minutes. From 24 months: 4 activities, 5–12 minutes.
Starting 12–17 months
Starting 18–23 months
Starting from 24 months
Words that come up
Across these activities you will model “in”, “out”, “ball in”, “all gone”, “sock”, “off”, “feet”, “cars”, “blocks”, “same”, “all tidy” and “throw”. Say one at the moment it happens, then pause for your child's turn.
Safety with a laundry basket
- Use a basket without broken plastic edges or gaps big enough to trap a hand or foot.
- Stay within arm's reach if your child sits inside, and never carry or push them in it near stairs.
Prep tips
- Empty it fully and wipe it before play.
- Push it against a wall when you need it to stay still as a throwing target.
No laundry basket? Use instead
- A large cardboard box.
- A plastic storage tub without its lid.
- A big cooking pot for small throwing targets.
Combine it with
A laundry basket is most often paired with socks (7 activities), soft ball (2 activities) and blocks (1 activity). The skills practised most: household helping (5), matching (4) and body parts (2).
Often combined with
Skills practised
Frequently asked questions
What can a toddler do with a laundry basket?
11 activities here use it, for example In and Out Basket Climb (12–20 months), Toe-Tug Sock Off (12–20 months) and Cars Here, Blocks There Tidy-Up (16–26 months). 6 are on the low-prep menu: no prep and 10 minutes or less.
Is a laundry basket safe for toddlers?
Use it only with an adult close by. Use a basket without broken plastic edges or gaps big enough to trap a hand or foot. Stay within arm's reach if your child sits inside, and never carry or push them in it near stairs.
What can I use instead of a laundry basket?
A large cardboard box, a plastic storage tub without its lid or a big cooking pot for small throwing targets can stand in for most of these activities.
What ages are activities with a laundry basket for?
They cover 12–36 months of corrected age: 4 starting 12–17 months, 3 starting 18–23 months and 4 starting from 24 months.
Related
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.