6 Low-Effort, High-Payoff Ways to Keep a Sick Kid Occupied While You Try to Work from Home
Keep your patient entertained so you can get the job done.
You’re home with your too-sick-to-go-to-school kiddo. You’ve served up a snack, offered tissues, let him watch three shows—and it’s still only 10 a.m. Of course you want him to feel better, but you’ve also got a pile of papers to read. Don't worry about making it a super-jam-packed day of fun, says Pittsburgh family physician Deborah Gilboa, M.D. “Healing takes rest, and rest can be boring. Plus, knowing a sick day at home isn’t a total blast may make your kid less likely to want one unless he’s truly ill.”
Chore Time
Might as well make it a productive sick day.
Free labor awaits! Your organizing project is as good as done (think Lego sorting, towel folding, sock matching).
Cozy Nest
Hopefully it will be comfortable enough to take a long nap in.
Bed, shmed. Make the patient a tent under the dining room table or a nest on the couch with extra pillows and a fluffy comforter.
Story Time
If you don't have time to read a story, then this is the next best thing.
Need to join a call? Download tales for him to listen to.
Busy Hands
Way better than being parked in front of a TV or iPad all day.
He can cut snowflakes from coffee filters, and string necklaces from cereal Os, penne or rigatoni.
Water Spa
Bubbles can be an excellent sick kid distraction.
Let him soak in a kid-bubbles tub while you sit close with your laptop. He’ll be squeaky clean, and you’ll get some work done. Boom!
Written by Jennifer Kelly Geddes for Working Mother and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.
