It’s been a month of not feeling great at our house. Nothing serious, just a rather miserable and long-lived virus making the rounds in our family (Lily, thankfully, seems to have been spared the experience). It has, however, gotten me thinking about ways to keep little ones as happy as possible when they feel anything but great. Here are a few quiet activities that have helped to distract from illness this month at our house:
- puzzles
- books (hooray for public libraries!)
- drawing
- coloring
- painting
- play dough
- sidewalk paint
- looking after baby dolls and stuffed animals
- building with blocks
- pattern blocks
- playing with fabric scraps
- playing “school”
I have resorted to television on occasion, but I try to stick to Signing Time DVDs (I did allow a handful of Bob the Builder and one or two Word World episodes). I watch with the kids so we can talk about what they see and to keep myself from using the television as a babysitter. Both my children and I have learned sign language vocabulary from Signing Time, and I learned about greywater purification systems from Bob the Builder. I even looked it up afterwards, and the description seemed reasonably accurate, at least according to Wikipedia…
How do you keep your young children happy when they don’t feel well?
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
I think tv/dvds can be great when you watch it together and talk about it rather use it to 'babysit'. The other activities you listed sound fun too!
This is a great list! Big kuddos to you for limiting TV. We were lucky – our daughter is a healthy child. But at the times when she is cranky, she really enjoys playdoh – it almost like it takes her mind off things.
Poor kids, being sick is not very much fun. I hope they feel better soon! One of Emily's favorite activities when she doesn't feel so good is playing with her felt board. She loves to make the pieces talk and develop her own story.
I'm so sorry you all have been sick. I do let Abby watch quite a bit of TV when she's sick. It's the only thing that will keep her calm. Many times, she'll lay on the couch and rest or take a nap.
I have to admit that when they don't feel well we rely a lot on the television. After hours of reading and snuggling I usually resort to TV and I usually don't watch it with them. Signing Times are definitely on our list. I also love Magic School Bus, which is a bit above my girls' heads but the episodes are packed with great information. When we had cable we watched Sid the Science Kid and Super Why.
I've been wanting to check out books on CD. I know my girls would love them, but I think the oldest one would be able to follow best. The middle one really needs to see the book.
And of course, if I offer to bring out the paints, everyone perks right up :)
First I try to keep Ingrid occupied with books, then she usually gets into her drawers and plays with all her clothes and diapers, then if she gets fussy after that I do resort to the TV. We usually have Blue's Clues or Charlie and Lola DVDs to watch. Those for some reason I can watch over again without wanting to kill myself :)
Hope you guys feel better!!
Poor you — not a good time to be dealing with sick kids! Thanks for sharing this list of ideas. I admit that I also relax my no TV rule when our son is sick. We don't own a TV, but we grab his homemade quilt and fire engine pillow and cozy up on the couch together with my laptop and watch youtube clips for 1/2 hour or so. He also loves walks in the stroller (not so easy with three kids!). And if he's feeling up to it, we bake together. Like you, we do a lot of books and puzzles too. And when I get really stir crazy, Skype keeps me sane. We use the webcam and call any grandparents we can find.
great ideas. I usually let Noah watch a dvd, or listen to ipod, and he loves just playing with his toys. hope everyone is feeling better!
@Mom and Kiddo – thanks for the suggestion, I think Emma at least could really enjoy listening to these!
Recently we have discovered the joy of Books on CD/Tape. I check them out of the library and Kiddo finds them to be just as entertaining, if not more so (amazingly), as TV, which, like you, I limit.