10-minute games for busy parents and young kids

A ten-minute game can fit between getting home and making dinner, or before you start bedtime. Choose something with little setup, use what you have and let your child help decide how to play.

These games mainly suit preschool and early primary school children. Make them easier or harder to fit your child. Stay with young children and use age-safe items.

Ten minutes is a rough guide. Stop earlier or keep going if it works for both of you.

1. Draw and guess

You need paper and pencils or crayons.

Take turns drawing something while the other person guesses. Start with familiar things such as a cat, a house or a bus.

For a younger child, offer two choices: “Is it a dog or a car?” An older child could draw a scene or an animal doing a job.

The drawing doesn’t have to look right. If no one can guess it, the person who drew it can explain.

2. Copy my moves

Stand or sit in a clear space. One person makes a move and the other copies.

Try touching your head, making a face or moving your arms like a robot. Swap who leads after a few turns.

You can play sitting down and use only hand movements if that suits you. Avoid climbing or jumping on furniture.

For an older child, put three moves together and see if you can both remember them.

3. What has changed?

Put three large, familiar objects on a table. Let your child look, then ask them to turn away.

Move one object or cover it with a cloth. Ask what changed.

Start with something obvious, such as a missing book. Add more objects if your child wants a harder turn. Use items that are safe for the youngest child nearby, rather than coins or small parts.

Let your child change the objects for your turn too.

4. Make up a story together

One person starts with a sentence. The next person adds what happens next.

Try: “A dog got on the bus.” Your child can choose where the dog goes and who it meets.

If making sentences is hard, ask a choice: “Did the dog go to the park or the moon?”

You can tell the story while sitting on the couch or walking around the garden. End it whenever you need to finish.

5. Find it in the room

Choose something you can both see. Give a clue without naming it.

“It’s soft and we sit on it” could mean the couch. For a younger child, point to two things and let them choose.

For an older child, use clues about shape, colour or purpose. Take turns choosing the object.

Keep the hunt in the same safe space so no one needs to climb or open cupboards.

6. Run a pretend shop

Use a few large toys as the stock. Your child can choose what the shop sells.

Take turns being the customer and shopkeeper. Ask about the items, choose one and pretend to pay without using coins.

You could run a bookshop, toy shop or a shop that only sells imaginary things. An older child may want to make signs or prices.

Stop at closing time and put the stock away together.

7. Build from one idea

Use blocks suited to your child’s age. Choose something to build together, such as a home for a toy or a short bridge.

Each person adds a part. Ask what the building needs rather than showing your child how it should look.

If you have children of different ages, give them separate parts of the same project. Keep small building pieces away from toddlers.

Take it apart at the end or leave it somewhere safe to return to.

8. Make a rhythm to copy

Clap a short pattern and ask your child to copy. Then let them lead.

Start with two slow claps. Add a pause, a tap on your knees or a quiet clap.

You don’t need music or an app. Keep the pace easy enough for everyone to join in.

If loud sounds bother someone, tap fingertips together or make silent hand patterns instead. You can make the whole game quiet.

9. Tell a toy’s story

Choose a soft toy or figure and give it a problem to solve.

Perhaps it has lost its hat, missed the bus or ordered the wrong lunch. Ask your child what happens next.

They can act it out while you speak for another toy. You could also swap roles.

Use a simple problem and let the story go where your child takes it. You don’t need to build a set or gather lots of props.

10. Would you rather?

Take turns offering two silly choices.

“Would you rather have a tiny elephant or a huge duck?” Ask why they chose their answer, then give them a turn to ask you.

Keep choices fun and suitable for your child. Avoid making it a test of what they know.

For a child who finds spoken choices hard, point to pictures or use toys to show the options.

Choose the game that fits your day

For a quiet break, try drawing or a story. For movement, try copying actions. If your child likes making things, choose the blocks or shop.

Offer two choices rather than reading the whole list aloud.

Raising Children Network’s guide to play for school-age children has more ideas for shared play.

For younger children, see our toddler activities after daycare.

Give the game a clear finish

Before you start, say what happens next: “We can play until it’s time to set the table.”

Give a short warning before finishing. If needed, agree on one last turn.

Put your phone away while you play. Those Little Years can pause selected apps on your own iPhone for family time. See how it works.

Try one game today. Keep the favourites for the next time you have ten minutes.