Here’s one of the simplest yet best ways to keep a toddler happy: washing his or her own toys. Yup: between water, favorite toys, splashing, and imitating you the grown-up, this activity has it all!

And it couldn’t be easier. This morning while I needed to keep Veronika busy, I simply set out two basins, one with clean water and one with a tiny bit of soap added, along with a towel underneath to catch inevitable sloshing.

Then I added a few favorite toys that can get wet, including trucks, animals, and a dinosaur. Plus her unicorn, otherwise known around here as Sparkly Neigh.

She immediately fell to washing them. I had given her a tiny bristles brush meant to clean out straws, and this was a perfect for giving cow and sheep and Neigh a good scrubbing.

In between washing the toys, she also just loved splashing her hands in the water.

When she seemed about to tire of the game, I handed her a cloth, and she lovingly fell to drying everyone off!

Beyond just the fun of cleaning the toys, toddlers love games like this where they can feel like a little helper. As long as you don’t mind a little water on the floor, this is a great way to keep your toddler busy.