Sibling Play | Activities for Siblings to Play Together

“What can I do?”

A question I often hear from the mouth of my preschooler. And why is this question always asked at the most inconvenient of times! When I’m making dinner, on the phone or trying to get some housework done.

During these moments I often say something like “Just go play with your brother.”

I love playing with my kids, but there are times when I’m not always available to be their playmate. Instead of feeling guilty about this, I realize it’s a beautiful thing for  kids to explore and learn how to play.

It’s even better when siblings play together! As parents we won’t be able to play every minute of the day. And bonus, sibling play helps children form a lasting sibling bond!

Build a strong sibling bond with these easy kid's activities. Over 20 play ideas for siblings!

When our son was first born I brainstormed ways for a toddler to interact and “play” with a baby. Now that our kids are getting older I’m continuing to encourage sibling play, but it looks a little bit different.

It’s not always easy coming up with activities for siblings of different ages. For example, our daughter gets frustrated doing a puzzle with her brother because his idea of fun is tearing it all apart. 

So I’m her eta help you. I’ve created a list of 20+ activities older and younger siblings can play together! You can download a copy of the list at the end of the post.

It doesn’t matter if there is a age difference or sex difference. These brother and sister play ideas are perfect for sibling bonding.

Sibling Play: Activities for Siblings to Play Together Regardless of Age

Simple Kids Activities:

Blow bubbles together

Throw a ball to each other

Run around outside or play tag

Go on a nature walk and look for different animals, leaves, flowers

Play with balloons

Build a tower or fortress with blocks

Read books together

Pick flowers or set up your own flower shop

Do art! Color, stamp, paint, stickers

Some Adult Supervision Required:

Build a fort together out of pillows and blankets

Wash bikes or a cozy coupes together

Make chalk art outside 

Have a dance party, alternate who picks the song

Create a foam pit at home with pillows

Go to the park and swing, slide, jump

Jump on the trampoline together

Easy Sensory Activities:

Splash in the water table

Build a sandcastle together in the sandbox

Run through the sprinkler

Make spectacular play dough creations

Dig in dirt with rake, shovel or load dirt into toy dump truck

Make a finger paint creation together

Jump through piles of leaves

Want to encourage sibling play? 20+ Activities Older and Younger Siblings Can Play Together! Great and easy kids activities siblings can do together regardless of age or sex.

It’s such a joy seeing our kids bond and watching their sibling relationship grow. How do you encourage sibling play in your house? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

Print a copy of the sibling play activities here.

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8 Comments

  1. These are great! My kids are about 4 years apart and my oldest struggles with my youngest always wanting to do what she’s doing. The one thing they can unite in is art and kinetic sand! Lol

  2. I love this so much! We have two girls (5 and 8), and we homeschool, so they are together a lot. Thankfully, they play really well together–but I’m always looking for new ideas to pull out when the bickering starts!

  3. Such a great tips, my daughter she likes going outside playing on her sand box and playing with bubbles . We try to come up with different activities she can do that way she won’t be bored or anything. Definitely saving this post .

  4. This is an awesome list. I have 3 kids all 3 years apart for finding activities they can all love to do together can be hard. I find that playing with balls and reading books is something they all love to do together.

  5. Great ideas! My kids do some of these together. but some are new to us and I’ll have to encourage them to give em a try. I love the sensory play; I think that may help my daughters interact more with their older brother who has autism.

  6. These are great tips. I am always looking for ways to get my children and strength their sibling bond. Blowing bubbles is always a big hit, and my daughter lives to “read” to her younger brothers. They also like to set up tea parties and make the food in their play kitchen.

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