I’m on day 2 of being stuck at home with my sick toddler, and I’m losing my mind. I don’t know about your kids, but when my kids are sick like this, they still have a ton of energy at points throughout the day. I find myself having to get super creative as to how to keep my kids entertained. Naturally, I feel I need to share these ideas to help keep my fellow moms at home with sick kids sane.
- My favorite, and first go-to option to get the energy out is a couch cushion obstacle course. It is so fun to take everything off the couch and create an obstacle course that the kids have to jump on, crawl over, and work their way around the course. The kids love it too, they find other objects from the house like cookie sheets and laundry baskets to utilize as extra obstacles on their course. They then proceed to jump on the cushions, crawl over the tower of pillows, hop inside the laundry basket then reach home base, which naturally, is the cookie sheet. This keeps them happy, active, and most importantly, busy!
- Scavenger Hunts can help them keep them busy for quite a while too. We have a game that helps us with this idea, Seek-a-Boo, but you can easily make up your own game. Hide things throughout the house and have them go on a scavenger hunt for them. If they’re a little older, throw some riddles in to make it more interesting.
- Board games are fun and usually, you have a plethora of options to help keep them busy. Hungry hungry hippos is a popular one in our household. Let them chose a few games to play, ones that require them to move around are a bonus.
- My favorite part about sick days as a kid was getting to curl up on the couch and watch a movie. So, after you get some energy out and they’re maybe ready for a nice nap, bundle them up on the couch and let them watch a movie they haven’t seen in a long time. Bonus: You get to sit and relax too
It can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are stuck in the house for days keeping your sick kiddo occupied while you yourself are trying not to get sick. Hopefully, these tips will help soften the blow and make it a little saner.
Good Luck!