10 Ways to Amuse a Sick Child
Looking back on my childhood, I (perhaps oddly) remember the times when I was sick enough to stay in bed (or on the couch) all day with great fondness. I have just vague recollections of being miserable. But I have very fond memories of how my mom made me feel then. And I have really cherished memories of what I did when I was sick — all the little ways my mom found to amuse a sick child. Some of the ways she found to keep a sick child busy were strictly reserved for when I was ill, so they were amusements which made me feel special even when my throat hurt or I was feverish. And that made me feel very loved indeed!
Here are 10 Ways to Amuse a Sick Child:
READING. Keep a stack of books within easy reach of the child. Read aloud — it’s a precious time together. Keep a few, new books tucked away which can be pulled out for sick days (particularly good for independent readers). Audiobooks are an excellent amusement for auditory learners and for super social kids who thrive on talk.
PLAY CARDS. Clear a space on the bed and play cards together. Teach them some classics, like Old Maid. Or play “memory” with just a few matching pairs. Teach an older child to play Solitaire.
PAPER DOLLS. Cutting out and playing with paper dolls can provide hours of entertainment. I love the printable paper dolls (boy, girl, and cat) available from Merrilee Liddiard (click here to view her website), as well as many other of her printables.
4. TOY CARS & TOY SOLDIERS. The Matchbox cars and toy soldiers, which normally race across your floor, now have terrain in a pile of sheets and blankets! They have “caves” to hide in and “mountains” of pillows to climb.
5. CREATING ART. A small collection of art supplies (kept nearby) and a sturdy surface come in very handy for sick days. Bed Tray available here. Paper, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, scissors, etc.
6. NEEDLEWORK. I have clear memories of pretty self-sufficiently doing embroidery kits by age seven — a love of needle arts that’s lasted a lifetime. Embroidery kits with pre-printed designs and floss or yarn are good ways to keep hands busy and bodies still. Easy looms are great too. And lacing cards or lacing beads are wonderful for even younger children.
7. SMALL JIGSAW PUZZLES. Worked on a sturdy surface, small puzzles can be worked solo, or with a parent.
8. PAPER AND PENCIL PUZZLES. Tuck away a few dot-to-dot books for younger children. Crossword puzzles or Mad Libs are good for older kids. It is easy to find online printables, too.
9. SCRAPBOOK. I still have my sick day scrapbook from my childhood. (You can probably guess my age by the artwork on the front.) My mom would give me a magazine or two, from which I cut pictures that sparked my imagination.
I would glue it on a blank page of the scrapbook. When I was very little (pre-writing skills), I would dictate a story based on the picture to my mom, and she would write the story down on the page with the picture.
As I got older, I would write my own caption or stories. This one makes me chuckle!
The fact that I have kept this scrapbook all these years must be a testimony to how much I enjoyed this sick day amusement.
10. SIMPLE GAMES. Children remember endless games of “I Spy”, hangman , or tic-tac-toe, not for the amazing game itself, but for the fun they had playing it with their parents, grandparents, or siglings.
And really, that’s the most important memory of all — the time we spend together. Even though the feverish child might not express it, the nurturing memories and the feeling of being special to someone even as they feel miserable will last a lifetime.
