Have you been left alone with a child who keeps repeating that he is bored? Or maybe you are looking for playground equipment for two children to play as a couple? If you want ideas for children’s activities so they don’t get bored, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the 20 best games for two children at home! They will have a great time!
Entertaining a child if you are alone can be difficult, especially if he is an only child. And it is that all children, even the most independent who are used to “doing things alone”, may want a shared activity from time to time. It is at this time that a specialized babysitter (but also a grandfather, an older cousin, a father) has to become a fun and imaginative playmate. With this selection of games for two children at home, you will be able to escape boredom!
In our blog we always pay special importance to this aspect, since games to play at home when you are bored are essential for the development of the child. Therefore, we not only have the best activities for children at home on vacation but we also propose the best games with homemade objects. You will see that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money to have a few hours of fun!
Whether you’re looking for babysitting jobs for teens or you’re an experienced child caregiver, having a boredom game repertoire at home will always be a bonus. Remember the more skills and experience you have on your babysitting resume, the easier it will be to find work. Also for parents, uncles or grandparents, these ideas for playing with children will be very useful. Check out some helpful videos on kids playing.
Playground for two young children at home
The following games at home for children from 2 to 3 years old , we have classified them by difficulty to play as a couple. We will start with the simple games for preschool children and we will increase the difficulty of the children’s activities. In case the children are under one year old, we recommend our selection of educational games for babies .
- Play clapping with children’s songs
The adult should face the child. If there are two children, they have to sit opposite each other. The left hand has to collide with the right and vice versa. Then both hands will collide head-on against those of the playing partner. The children will have to turn one of the palms up, so that they can clash their hands again but from top to bottom.
It is one of the most appropriate games for two children at home for coordination. If they also sing a nursery rhyme to the rhythm of their high fives, it becomes one of the best children’s games to develop memory and language.
For older children, this two-player game can get complicated and turn into a true clapping choreography .
- The horse
The rocking horse is a suitable game for strong young parents or babysitters. You will have to get down on all fours and the child will ride on you. He’ll have fun like crazy, maybe you a little less (especially if there are no rugs on the floor at home)
- The plane
Small acrobatic activity for parents, babysitters and children. If you have a lot of strength, lift the child in your arms and rock his weight from side to side carefully. Accompany the movement by imitating the noise of an airplane. This is one of the games for young children that will make you laugh the most.
To work your muscles less, try doing the movement from the ground. Lie on your back and bend your knees. Then, you will put the child’s chest on the soles of your feet (so that the child looks down). Move the little one up and down by bending the knees. The plane has taken off!
- The mirror
The games for preschoolers are simple but fun. The mirror is one of the best examples. Make a face or make a funny face. Then ask the child to imitate you. It is also one of the ideal two-player home games for two players. You must change your shift and the key is to act as if each one were in front of a mirror.
- Whoever laughs first loses
This is one of the funniest classic children’s games. It has passed from generation to generation and has no age limit. It’s amazing how funny it can be to be forced to be serious! Whoever laughs first, before the nonsense that the other player does, loses.
- Game of silence
The game of silence is one of the most traditional games for children at home. It is very useful to rest a little if the children have been doing some outdoor play or physical activity. Whoever opens their mouth first loses. We must warn you that if an adult and a small play instead of two children, it is more common for the older ones to lose. As incredible as it may seem, the little ones work hard to keep quiet!
- Rock, paper, or scissors
If you are looking for games for two children at home, this is one of the most popular. The little ones will not spend too much time on it, but it is ideal to alternate activities and games for preschool children and avoid boredom. The rules will be familiar to you because it is a traditional game.
The two children should hide their hands behind their backs and think about whether they are going to take out a rock, paper or scissors. The stone is a closed fist, the paper is an open hand and the scissors is the symbol of victory with the hand horizontal. The stone beats the scissors because it crushes it, but loses to the paper because it can envelop it. Scissors beat paper because it cuts it, but not stone. Lastly, paper can beat rock but not scissors. It is a children’s game of strategy that will activate their reflexes and develop their intelligence.
- The domino
Dominoes is one of the funniest games to learn numbers from 1 to 10 . The objective is to build a chain of tiles, joining the doubles that have the same value or the side of the tile that has the same number of points.
It is one of our favorite games for two children at home as they can spend a long time playing. On the other hand, it is a perfect gift for a 5 year old child (they will learn to count numbers easily).
- Even or odd
Before each round, the children must decide whether to bet on an odd or even number. Then, while saying out loud “odd or even?”, The hands should turn closed. Then each player indicates with his fingers an odd or even number. The sum is made and the player who bet on the winning result – odd or even – wins. It is a game for two children suitable when they know how to calculate simple sums.
Now let’s move on to games at home for young people, with older children. We refer to children who are already in primary school, from eight years old. If you are interested in activities for this age group, we recommend that you also take a look at our selection of games for children from 8 to 11 years old.
- Slap game (in the hands)
One player has his hands palms up and the other has them palms down on top. All this leaving some space. The child with their hands underneath must quickly turn their hands to hit the top of the opponent’s hands with a slap. It is an extremely popular children’s sleight of hand, where the risk is that one of the players “catches” the other’s hand.
- Name things or cities
Don’t tell me you don’t know this game? It is one of the most versatile games for two children at home since there are infinite variations. Players can propose categories of words according to their strengths: names of athletes, animals, colors … Not only is it part of the most classic two-player games, but there is also no age limit or no number of participants!
- Sink the fleet
This is another of the children’s games for two children par excellence. You only need graph paper and a pencil. If you prefer more sophisticated options, you can buy the board game, but on our blog, we always bet on free children’s games .
The playing area is a large square that, in turn, consists of ten squares on each side. Each square is identified by the intersection of letters (above) and numbers (in the left column). Inside are ships occupying different squares of different sizes: from two, three, four, to five squares. Each player must choose a square per turn: A7, H7, I2… If the square is occupied by a ship, the player marks an X and his opponent will have to answer “touched” or “water”. Once each ship is touched, the player will know how to orient himself towards the ultimate goal: destroy the fleet. For every ship sunk, the loser must say “sunk.”
Obviously, the player who first ends the opponent’s fleet will win.
- Nougats and crosses
The game layout is made up of nine squares, three by three. The objective is to form a set of symbols horizontally, vertically or crosswise. In this game for two players, one will draw circles and the other crosses. There are those who attack, those who defend themselves, those who claim to have great strategies, and those who just try!
- Force four
It’s a line-up game like tic-tac-toe, but a bigger, more commercial version. Here, the row of aligned tiles should be four and played on a 6 x 7 grid. Force 4 is certainly an ideal gift for an 8 year old. On the other hand, it is the perfect toy to know how to entertain children on a long car trip.
- The broom
The broom is one of the most popular card games for two children, although it can be played by up to five players. It consists of making groups of cards that together add up to 15 points.
In the Spanish deck, each card indicates the number, minus the jack which is worth 8, the knight 9, and the king with a value of 10. It is an ideal game for a child of 7 years or a little older.
- The ladies
Checkers is a somewhat simpler game than the broom, which is why it is among our favorite games for elementary school children. Children will learn to respect rules and anticipate the opponent’s movements. We love that the classic games for children are kept in front of video games, which barely develop their attention and learning capacity.
- Chess
It is the star game to teach children to think strategically. It is not easy, but you will be surprised by the learning capacity that children have and how they can get to like it. If the little one is interested, you can find chess classes in your city or simply follow some online tutorials to teach him step by step.
- The elastic band
A simple piece of elastic band of about three meters is more than enough to spend hours of fun. You can find it at any haberdashery. Children will only have to tie one end of the elastic band to the other and use the leg of a furniture or chair to fit the end of the elastic band once it is tied. You may not remember too much, but you can check out the old songs and games in this activity, which is ideal for children ages 7 to 8.
- Big Boggle
Scrabble is the ultimate word game, but perhaps for teens and adults. “Big Boggle” is a word game for middle-aged children. Although simpler than the previous one, in essence it is the same. We randomly mix the letter cubes that are placed on a kind of chessboard. It is time for time to come into play through an hourglass. Each player must find as many words as possible, matching contiguous letters.
- Guess the animal
It is a two-player game not only suitable for not getting bored at home but also on a car or plane trip when traveling with children. One of the players thinks of an animal and the other has to guess based on questions that can only be answered yes or no. For example: ‘Is it a mammal? Can fly? Do you have big ears? Obviously, the game can be customized according to the common interests of the players: a television series, sports, etc.
