Books and Simple Activities to Help Sick Kids Feel Better
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Are your kids home sick? It seems like everyone is battling some kind of illness right now.
If your child is sick, try these three activities to soothe them:
Find an old thermometer and some bandaids. Give them to your child and let them practice helping their stuffed animals feel better. Allowing them to play about being sick will allow them to process their own experiences.
Hop in the bathtub with them! Read a story, sing them a song, or let them have a turn to wash your hair. The steam and warm water will soothe their stuffiness, and they will have so much fun swapping roles with a parent!
Make smoothie popsicles together. They'll love getting to "cook" and you'll feel good getting some extra nutrients into your child.
Set up a cozy nook in your living room with pillows, blankets, and their favorite toys. Bring in a small box of gentle art supplies like coloring books and crayons. This becomes a special place where they can rest and engage in quiet activities. The act of creating and being in a designated "healing space" can make them feel secure and loved.
Instead of reading from a book, invent a story together. Start with a simple plot and let your child make decisions about the characters and what happens next.
Engage in some simple, child-friendly yoga poses or gentle stretching. This can be a playful way to encourage movement and may help alleviate some physical discomforts like stiffness or congestion.
Heading to the pediatrician? Check out THIS POST for tips on managing the waiting room.
These are some of our favorite books to read when someone is feeling under the weather:
(Picture books help children process the experience of being sick and getting better. They also support your child in giving and receiving care. )
(These are affiliate links, which means The Workspace for Children gets a small kickback when you shop these links. Thanks for your support!)
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Check Out The E-Books
THE PLAY PLAN
The Play Plan is an ebook containing play invitations that are easy to set up, inexpensive, and apply children of all ages. The 25 play prompts are divided into five categories and use items that you most likely already have at home. These play prompts consider children of all ages, all developmental stages, and all learning capabilities. Each prompt can be tailored to fit your unique child’s needs. Play is meant to be simple.
QUIET TIME AND INDEPENDENT PLAY
This downloadable ebook is your personal guide to Quiet Time and Independent Play. This ebook will teach you the basic steps to implementing a Quiet Time and Independent Play strategy that works. The guide teaches you my proven 5 step method for implementing a daily break without using screens. (Guide includes 5 bonus invitations to play.)
Looking for some simple, engaging outdoor activities to bridge the post-nap to dinner gap?