Things
to do in the Hospital
By Zack Skrip
At the FPIES foundation,
we know that hospital visits can be an unfortunate part of our
lives. Many of us have hospital bags packed so that we can trundle our little
ones off to the hospital as quickly as possible at any time of the day.
When we are fortunate,
it’s a quick visit and we are released the same day. But some visits require
more time. In fact, sometimes you’ll be in the hospital, and your child will be
well enough to want to do things but due to IVs or maybe hospital policy,
you’ll be unable to give them the freedom they’d have at home.
My family spent about
5mos in the hospital last year. When it comes to hospital living, sadly, we
know what we are talking about. Also, our hospitalizations were spent across
the country from where we live, so we didn’t have the freedom to run home and
change out books or toys.
These are the tricks we
learned last year.
TV
This is where you’ll
start. If your child is quite ill, then this is where you’ll stay, too. Kids
are naturally attracted to TV and in your frazzled state you’ll appreciate the
distraction also.
Try not to let this get
out of hand though. As the hours turn into days, TV has a way of making you
(and your child) anxious or “antzy.”
Consider making TV a
prize that you get to watch, maybe at a certain time of day (“It has to be
after 3pm…”), after they finish their food trial, or maybe after a certain
amount of time spent doing a different activity.
I’m going to be honest
with you. You are going to watch a lot of television. I know you don’t let your
kids watch that much at home. You aren’t a bad parent. Hospitals suck. This is
what it is.
Reading
Reading can be tough
when you just get to the hospital, especially depending on how sick everyone
is, but over time, it’ll provide a very pleasant distraction from the
environment and a reason to stop watching TV.
The tough thing about
books can be having them with you. Books take up a lot of space, and kid’s
books are by nature short--so you need a lot of them. “Kindle!” you all say.
Well, yes. There are Kindle versions of kids books, but unless you are really
committed to the platform, I’m assuming most of your kids book will be the old
fashioned paper kind.
So, unless you want to
keep a stack separate, ready to grab on your way out the door, it’s more than
likely that you won’t bring very many books with you (if any).
Here’s what you can do:
Buy a few children’s
book compendiums. These large, convenient volumes have many children’s books
published together. This way you can grab one or two and be set for a short
stay. The only downfall, is that they are heavy, and therefore hard to read
lying down. Here are our favorites:
- The 20th Century Children’s Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud
- A First Book of Fairy Tales
- HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child’s First Collection
- The Tall Book of Nursery Tales
You can buy most of
these used, and that could save you a little bit of money. Hospital stays
aside, these volumes contain many of the best stories, so they’re good to have
anyway.
YouTube
You would think this
would be in the same category as TV, but I’ve learned how to convince myself
that it isn’t, if only because of the educational value we’ve gotten from it.
As you read through
stories or go about your day, think of things that your child might not have
ever been exposed to, and then use YouTube to show them what it’s like.
For instance, we were
working on a sticker sheet that had dinosaurs and volcano's. I realized my son had never seen real lava before so we spent ten minutes looking at lava flows
on YouTube. Many of the YouTubers helpfully put things like pop-cans and
iPhones in the way of the lava so we could see them explode into flames.
You have to take your
education where you can get it.
Aside from nature, there
are all sorts of other fun things to use YouTube for. For instance, my son
learned all of the instruments in the orchestra over one hospital stay. We’d
search for classical music concerts and then name the instruments. (If you’d like
to introduce your child to classical music, I’d suggest you start here. These guys are hilarious.)
Crafts
Crafts can provide a fun
way to spend some time. They allow your child to use their fine motor skills,
get creative, and still stay in bed (if that’s required).
Coloring is the easiest
thing to do, and most nursing stations have crayons and coloring sheets
available, just ask for them.
My son and I had fun
making different paper airplanes (again, ask for some blank copy paper from the
nursing station). We’d watch the instructions (thank you, YouTube) and then try
it out on our own. You can see which plane goes the fastest, farthest, loops
the best, etc.
Another option is to
make finger puppets and then play out your child’s favorite fairy tales or
stories. Don’t overthink this. One time I took a couple of non-latex gloves,
cut off the fingertips, drew different smiles on them and then acted out
Hansel and Gretel.
Of course, Pinterest
would have a large offering of more creative options, but in the moment, the
glove people worked out just fine (but make sure they don’t get swallowed).
Fun Toys
Toys from home can bring
a lot of comfort to your child, as it will bring some continuity to what can be
a very scary experience. Whether it’s a few favorite stuffed animals or games,
bring a couple of toys with you.
If your child is older,
or going to be in-patient for a longer period of time, consider some sort of
building toy, like Duplos or Magna Tiles. We love the latter because they pack
flat and can be wiped down with disinfectant when they take a tumble to the
floor. These tiles can be a bit expensive, but if you watch for deals, you can
get them discounted.
Remember that most
hospitals have a play room that you can usually borrow toys from. So don’t feel
like you have to pack something from home. The best part is that once
your child is tired of that toy, the staff will pick it up and drop off a
different one.
Hospital Resources
Ask your nurse or the
floor social worker what other resources are available. Depending on the
hospital, you may find any number of the below are offered:
- Music Therapy
- Therapy Dogs
- Hospital Library
- Children’s toy room
Children’s hospitals
especially will have other resources to make your stay as positive as it can
be.
Conclusion
These were our favorite
ways to spend time in the hospital. What have you found to be the most helpful
or comforting while spending time in-patient? Let us know in the comments.
This post written by and contributed to The FPIES Foundation
by Zack Skrip. Between working for three different major pharmaceutical
companies and being a parent of a child with a chronic illness, Zack knows that
accurate healthcare information is vital. He’s a freelance medical copy and
business writer, and you can email him at zack@zsmarketing.net.
