What to Put in a Kid’s Quiet Time Box for Quiet Time

Quiet time is wonderful, but sometimes the kids might have a hard time entertaining themselves. Pull out a Kid’s Quiet box that you use only during quiet time, and then you will definitely have some peace and quiet. If you’re not sure what to put in her box, here are several ideas.

Quiet Time

I have decided to start initiating quiet time in our house. I decided to do it for many reasons:

1. I want to be happy mom and not crazy mom

Do you ever find yourself going crazy at about 3-4:00 in the afternoon? I do! About 4:00 is when I hit my “stick-a-fork-in-me-I’m-done” time. I’ve been with the kids all day splitting up arguments, answering the “can I have a snack?” question over and over and over again, and convincing them that they need to wash their hands after they use the bathroom, yes, EVERY TIME! It can get exhausting. If I don’t get a break, I turn into CRAZY mom. She’s not so patient, and no one likes her. I realized that if I can get a break, I’m much happier.

2. My kids need a break

I have found that quiet time helps my kids take a break from the craziness of life. It’s an hour of time with no electronics, no outside stimulus, just peace and quiet. It’s a time for them to be creative, read a book, rest, or do nothing. (that last one is rare). They get a little energy boost and seem to be happier in the afternoon as well.

3. Some alone time

I need some guaranteed alone time EVERYDAY! I think all mom’s do. If you’re a working mom, this could also be a good time to get some work done. I use it to work on my blog a lot. It helps to know that I am definitely going to get that time, and I’ve scheduled it during the time of day I struggle the most. There are days where I look forward to this time! 🙂

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The Rules of Quiet Time

When I decided to implement quiet time, I was up front with my kids from the beginning. I wanted them to understand why we were doing it, for both of us, and what the rules were going to be. I think establishing them from the get go is a must. I also think explaining to them that it is not a punishment but an energizing time is also important.

1. No Electronics

I wanted to establish this immediately. This is not a time to just sit on the iPad or watch TV. This was quiet time for your brain. It has to be a quiet activity. No horseplay or craziness because that just causes fighting and injuries.

2. It will last an hour

I let them know that quiet time is a full hour, and I set a timer on Alexa for 60 minutes. They can ask her at any time to know how much time is left.

3. No coming out during quiet time

I let them know that this is not a time to ask for a snack, water, or ask mommy questions. If there is something they want to talk to me about, it will have to be after quiet time. Also, if they need help doing something, it will have to be after quiet time and they will need to find another thing to do. I am not like a crazy monster when it comes to implementing this one.

I don’t want them to feel like I am pushing them away. Snack time is right before, so they shouldn’t be hungry. I make sure they have their water bottles. And if they come out, I just remind them that it is mommy’s quiet time too, and they will have to wait until it is over. It might take some training, but they get it, and they understand, and soon it becomes normal for them and they are able to entertain themselves for the full hour. The training period can be hard, but don’t give up because it will be worth it in the end. I think it took my kids about a week. If you’re consistent with it, it shouldn’t take too long.

That’s it! Super simple.

Kid’s Quiet Time Boxes

Now, it can be hard to make them do quiet time in their room with all their usual toys and things. I mean, they see their room as something they could play in any time all day. And, you could very well make them stay in there with their “usual things”, and they would be fine. They would adapt. However, I decided to make a special kid’s quiet time box to make it easier on me, and them. They only get it during quiet time. It makes it special, and sometimes they look forward to doing quiet time. I am pretty strict about only getting their box out during quiet time.

It’s hard to know what to put in your quiet time box. I wanted to do activities that were, obviously, quiet, but also age appropriate and actually fun for them. I spent about 20-30 dollars and created our own little quiet box. Since they only get it during quiet time, I expect it to last about 2-3 months. So far it has lasted about 2 months. Spending 20-30 dollars 4x a year sounded good to me!

Here’s what I put in their boxes, and some other ideas I have too that I plan to use in the future. I have a 3 and 6 year old, so most of these items should work for 2-8 year olds. (If you have a child out of that range, these might give you some ideas of similar things to do for their age.)

What to Put in a Kid’s Quiet Time Box for Quiet Time

Coloring Books

Can’t go wrong with coloring books. The dollar store has a ton, and they’re only a dollar. You can also find packs of them pretty cheap on Amazon.

Activity Books

There are so many different activity books out there for all ages. There are word search, mazes, color by number, and more. Also a good find at the dollar store.

Sticker Books

My kids LOVE these books. It’s like painting or coloring with stickers. It is hit or miss if you find these at the dollar store, but they have some nice ones on Amazon for cheap, and they last quite a while. This is the one my daughter had, and she loved it!

Scratch Pages

Scratch pages are coloring pages with a stick. They are super fun, and I like doing them too. They are pretty cheap on Amazon, I don’t really ever find them at the dollar store.

Stickers

What kid doesn’t enjoy fresh stickers. Although, I always make a rule with these. You can stick them on anything, but paper. If you child LOVES stickers, you might consider looking into a sticker subscription with Pipsticks. They have amazing stickers. The dollar store also has a ton of stickers.

Coloring Utensils

There are so many coloring tools you can use: markers, pencils, crayons, pens, or paint. I don’t do paint, for obvious reasons, but I do get washable markers and crayons.

Stencils

The older (younger) kids that know how to use a stencil would love using different kinds and sizes of stencils.

Paper and Notepads

I always like to throw in some blank paper, construction paper, or notepads/sketch pads cause you never know when their creativity might strike.

Play Doh

This is a hit or miss and depends on how old your kids are. Mine are old enough to know how to use play doh. I gave them a cutting board and said they could only use it on the board and to make sure they put it away with lids on after they are finished. They do really well with this. You can buy some from the dollar store, but it is SUPER cheap and you’ll probably have to replace it sooner.

Knick Knacks

Just raid the dollar store and you will find all kinds of knick knacks to include. Mostly just things that they don’t encounter everyday, but they would find interesting. I got some of these:

They are sticky wall climber guys. My kids LOVE them. They are super fun. The dollar store brand on these can also be pretty cheap, so keep that in mind.

Some other knick knack ideas:

Miniature figurines like cars, dinosaurs, farm animals, etc…
Bouncy balls
Hot wheels
Paddle ball
Yo-yo
Slinky
Plastic Harmonica (this is pushing that quiet limit)

Pipe Cleaners

Pipe cleaners are a great way to be creative. Kids find so many fun things to do with them.

Puzzles

My daughter loves puzzles, she could do them for hours. You can buy puzzles for all different ages. They have 2-3 year old puzzles and 4-8 year old puzzles. Believe it or not, the dollar store is another great place to find puzzles.

Board Games

Even if your child can’t play a board game with all the exact rules, they are still fun to play. My kids would love it if I let them just pull out all our board games and throw around all the pieces. Some great kids games are:

Candy Land
Chutes and Ladders
Barrel of Monkeys
Hoot Owl Hoot
Bananagrams

Rice bucket

This might take a little more prep work, if you’re up for it. Place a bunch of rice into a container and then hide small items in it. You could also just provide a shovel and cup and they have their own little sandbox. You’d have to be okay with picking up rice all the time.

Magnetic drawing pad

Magnetic drawing pads are always fun, or those magnetic face pads. They have some magnetic pads at the dollar store, but they do die easily. Do you remember Willy?

Magnets

How about some good ole fashion magnets. Kids love magnets, and you can also get those noise magnets. (They are not loud)

Blocks

Buy a bag of blocks that they only use during quiet time. You could also invest in some Magnetiles, but those are more for everyday since they are more expensive.

Letters and Shapes

A jar or bin of plastic or foam letters and shapes. You could cut these out of paper, foam, or felt. OR just buy a pack of them. These are pretty cool, they are Magnetic foam letters.

Felt play

Felt is always fun to play with. Buy some felt story boards for your toddler or little one to use their imagination. You could also make your own story board, but that would require a bit of prep work.

Random cheap items

Kids play with the weirdest things. Just like most 1 y/o would rather play with the box than the present. You never know what they will like, and if you’re challenging their creative side, they might like more than you think. Here are some random things to include in your kid’s quiet time box. Just see what they do with it.

Plastic ware (like I said, you never know)
Ribbon– Just cut pieces of ribbon
Fuzzy Balls– a.k.a. pom poms, You know, those little fuzzy balls to do art with. You can often find them at the dollar store.
Plastic Eggs– After Easter I have A TON of plastic eggs everywhere, and they kids LOVE them. I secretly throw them away until they are all gone. haha.
Cardboard Boxes– Not something you could include every time, but if you just bought something with a big box, hold it until quiet time.

Conclusion and Alternative Options for Kid’s Quiet Time Box

The possibilities for your Kid’s Quiet Time Box really are endless. I suggest buying a container or bucket to put all the times in and then hide them in a place they can’t reach so that they are guaranteed to only be pulled out during quiet time.

Also, just like the cardboard boxes. If you come across something that you think would be perfect for the kids, save it for quiet time. Surprise them with a new gift or quiet time goodie every once and a while and then quiet time becomes a cool thing.

Alternatives

If you don’t want to make your own box, you could sign up for a subscription and get a box monthly with kids crafts and goodies in them and save that for quiet time. A good place to find subscription boxes are on Cratejoy. They have all kinds of boxes for kids and for all ages. If you need more information on different boxes, you can check out my post 13 of the Best Craft Boxes for Kids and Toddlers.

What to Put in a Kid’s Quiet Time Box for Quiet Time

What to Put in a Kid’s Quiet Time Box for Quiet Time

Quiet Time