Activity Ideas for Toddlers Undergoing Procedures in Hospitals
Often times, getting a procedure or treatment done can be a boring, scary, long, or confusing experience for toddlers. While some procedures like IV placements can be fairly quick, many, like bandage changes, port cleanings, respiratory treatments, and others, can be boring at best and painful at worst. Distractions can be a helpful way to pass the time and keep the child calm and still during uncomfortable moments. They can also help children feel more in control of something in their life, during a time when they don't have as many choices. However, sometimes it can be difficult to come up with ideas for what to do. How do you best keep your child occupied when they can't move around a lot?
If your hospital has Certified Child Life Specialists, or another patient support provider, they may have tools and experience providing these types of distractions, so you can rely on them to help! But if that is not a resource available to you, or if you just want to be prepared as well, here is a non-exhaustive list of ideas for what you can do with your child during a procedure.
Games and Activities to Distract in Hospitals
Coloring Books: Provide a variety of coloring books and crayons to keep toddlers engaged and creative, and you can discuss what they draw as they do so, to keep their attention on the art longer.
Sticker Play: Use sticker sheets for toddlers to create scenes or simply enjoy placing stickers on paper.
Puzzles: Simple, large-piece puzzles can be a great distraction and require minimal movement. Have multiple puzzles available to allow the child a chance to make choices.
Story Time: Read books to the child or let them listen to audiobooks for an engaging experience. You can also encourage them to look at the pictures and come up with their own stories to go along with it.
Soft Toys and Dolls: Provide plush toys or dolls for imaginative play and comfort during treatments. You can also encourage them to squeeze/hug these toys tightly during pain.
Interactive Apps: Use tablets with educational and interactive games designed for toddlers. If your child enjoys specific shows, you could let them watch those as well.
Building Blocks: Large, soft blocks can be used to build structures while seated comfortably. They can also be used as a physical barrier to prevent the child from seeing certain things that might increase fear or distress, if needed.
Memory Games: Simple matching games using cards or pictures can be played while sitting still, and can encourage a child to think deeply, which is an effective distraction from other thoughts of stress or fear.
Musical Instruments: Provide small instruments like maracas or tambourines for quiet music-making, and to block out sounds of tools that may be used in some treatments.
Simple Crafts: Easy crafts like paper folding or simple origami can keep toddlers occupied and can be rewarding for them to create, helping offset some frustrations they might have from sitting through the procedure.
Play-Dough: Soft play-dough can be manipulated to create shapes and figures, and can even be used to explore story-telling.
Bubble Blowing: Use bubble solution to blow bubbles gently, which can be mesmerizing for toddlers, and little need for clean up later.
Shadow Puppets: Use a flashlight and hands or cut-out shapes to create shadow puppets on a wall. You can do these yourself or encourage your child to try too.
Interactive Storybooks: Books with flaps or textures that toddlers can touch and explore while listening to a story, which can encourage longer attention.
I-Spy Games: Games and books (like Where's Waldo) that prompt children to look for different things can be a continuous attention grabber, as there are always new things to look for.
There are certainly many other ideas, and your child's personal interests should be considered when deciding what will work best for them, but hopefully this list of suggestions can help spark some ideas for your child's future treatment needs!
References
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (2018). Coping strategies for children during
medical procedures. CHOP. https://www.chop.edu/sites/default/files/supporting-children-medical-procedure.pdf
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