Malta is full of fun things to do for little ones, but most of them are outdoors.
It’s one thing to have your older kids run around and play freely in an indoor play area while you watch and sip on coffee. But it’s quite another to have a baby who can only crawl around or just about walk while holding your hands. For many parents of children under the age of 2, a whole day in can be frustrating. They need constant stimulation, and if there isn’t something to distract them, it’s going to have to be you.
Here are 6 rainy day activities that worked for our babies.
Indoor pools
It’s not free, but it’s also not that expensive to join a gym with an indoor pool for three months of the year. If you were to send your babies to any sort of class, it would probably be more expensive.
I found that going swimming when it was cold and rainy was a win on various levels – baby and parent are entertained and exercising, baby is learning how to swim, you’re not spending extra money while you’re in there, and you’re both nice and warm!
The Supermarket
Garden nurseries
There’s something so calming about meandering through aisle upon aisle of green foliage.
Apart from that, though, most garden nurseries around the island also have fish, birds, and sometimes even bunnies or kittens on display around the shop. Your little one will love interacting with the animals, of course.
The Point Shopping Mall
A trip to the mall will definitely burn up a couple of hours, especially if you’re willing to put in a few coins in the rides on level -2. There are also the toy stores (one on -2 and one in the piazza), which keeps them quiet for a beat while they look at all the colourful toys on display. By the time you’ve stopped for a feed and rocked them off for a nap in the stroller, it’s likely that the rain would have passed.
Esplora Interactive Science Centre
A lot of people think that babies are too young to take to Esplora, but we’ve been taking ours since they were under one year old – and they have always loved it.
While they don’t understand what they’re doing at the exhibits, they are still being stimulated in an extremely creative and educational way.
The Malta National Aquarium
It’s a very common answer as an indoor solution, but the lights and fish really stimulate babies in a positive way, as well as make them more inquisitive. An added benefit to babies watching fish is that it reduces anxiety and stress, calming them down.
It’s also great for parents because it’s not only educational, but also so much fun to watch your little ones light up with delight and excitement. It’s important to time it after a nap though, because it’s quite dark and peaceful in there, so if they’re already tired, you won’t make it long before they’re snoozing in the pram or your baby carrier.
