FaceTime Activities for Kids

My kids used to hold the phone on FaceTime and just stare. Put the same kids at a table with crayons and they'd talk nonstop. The difference was having something to do.

Young kids mostly play next to each other (parallel play), and the social part happens in little bursts around the activity: "look at mine," "can I have the red one." A video call skips the activity and asks them to just talk. So bring the table to the call: give both kids the same thing to do, point the camera at their hands, and let the talking take care of itself.

Make something side by side

Color the same page

Holding drawings up to the camera is two kids coloring separately with an audience. What I wanted for my own kids was for them to color the same picture, so that's what PaintPal does: one kid starts a room and sends the link, and both color one page together from their own devices while they see each other on video. One does the dragon, the other does the castle, and they argue (nicely, mostly) about the sky. You can color the same page together in a browser or on the iPhone and iPad app.

Build the same challenge

Both kids grab blocks or Lego and get one challenge: the tallest tower that stands on its own, a bed for a stuffed animal, a car that rolls off a book. A specific challenge gets a lot more chatter than "build something."

Play-dough animals

Someone calls out an animal and both kids make it in two minutes. The results are usually unrecognizable, which is half the fun.

Paper airplanes

Fold one together step by step, then test flights on both ends. Best from about age 6, when folding stops being a parent's job.

Kitchen-sink experiments

Sink or float: each kid gathers five things (a spoon, a toy car, a cork, an apple) and a bowl of water. Guess, then drop. Every drop is a little reveal, and apples always surprise people.

The ice race: both kids get an ice cube at the start of the call. Whose melts first? They'll try everything, and you can check back between other activities.

Pretend play

A lot of young kids are at their chattiest when they're pretending. One kid runs a restaurant and serves play food to the camera while the other orders and leaves a review (expect a lot of soup). Or a toy shop, where the shopkeeper names wild prices. Or a doctor's office for stuffed animals. Swap roles halfway.

Reading together

Reading works best when the kid has a job. If both families have the same picture book (the library makes this easy), each kid turns the pages along with the reader. A new reader can read a page aloud to someone who isn't their parent, which is a big deal to them.

Projects that carry over

Some activities are best picked up again next call, so the call starts with something to do instead of "what did you do this week?"

A book, one page per call: make up a story and draw one page each time. In PaintPal you can save each page to your camera roll, and after a few weeks the kids have a little book they made together.

Grow something: plant a bean in a cup on the same day on both ends, and start every call with a height check.

Mail, then open together: send a drawing or small surprise and save the opening for the next call.

What doesn't work as well as it looks

Twelve-step Pinterest crafts fall apart on a call: every step needs a grown-up on both ends, and one kid always finishes way before the other. Anything that needs both families to buy supplies tends not to happen. And watching a movie "together" mostly means watching a movie, at least for little kids.

Tips

Point the camera at the table, not the face. On an activity call, the hands are the interesting part. Text the other parent the supplies beforehand ("play-dough and a bowl of water today"). And don't worry if it gets quiet. Two kids coloring in silence together is still time together.

If calls keep falling apart anyway, here's why video calls fall apart with little kids and how to fix it. For games with rules, see games to play on FaceTime. For a longer call with a friend, try these virtual playdate ideas. If it's grandma or grandpa on the other end, there's a list just for grandparents. And for a whole group of cousins, see what works with a big age gap.

If your kids love to draw, try PaintPal with a friend. I'm curious which activity your kids ask for again.