Let's play with a cardboard box

What you need

Cardboard boxes, scissors, sticky tape, coloured crayons or washable felt tip pens

Where to find it

Supermarkets, DIY stores, local shops; ask for used cardboard boxes for free

Activities

Up to 12 months

Kicking post
Put the box within kicking distance from your baby, and show them the noise they can make by kicking it.

Post box
Make an opening in the box, and show your baby how to drop unbreakable household objects or toys through it. Choose soft and hard items: the different noises they make as they land inside the box adds to the fun, as does finding them again. Put the items just out of reach to encourage the baby to stretch, and when they are mobile, put these around the room so the baby can crawl, wriggle or walk to collect them.

12 months to 2 years

Post box
Make a small slit in one side of the box. Encourage your child to find specific themed objects (pegs of different colours, bricks of different sizes, types of spoon, etc.) to post into the box.

Boat/car/lorry
Draw and colour a lorry onto the box, showing your child how to hold the felt tip pen or crayon so they can join in. Encourage pushing, pulling, parking and loading games, and taking favourite toys for a ride.

2–5 years

Monsters
Cutting some slits for eyes and a mouth, and decorating with crayons, will turn the box into a robot, dragon, monster. Children naturally act out the character they have created. Older children can be encouraged to create their own activity.

Boat/lorry/car
Children can push each other around in a box turned into a vehicle of their choice.

Lily pads
Use box sections to make and decorate lily pads, so your child can jump from pad to pad.

5-12 years

Children become even more creative and can use a cardboard box to make favourite characters and act
out stories from films, books or TV programmes.