Ideas for Entertaining Toddler in a Hospital

I would say read to to her, maybe buy a special doll or toy that she is not familiar with. Best of luck to her and you.

Hi! I worked in Peds for 24 years and most hospitals have a Child Life Department. These are people who are educated to help with preparing kids for tests, IV's, they entertain kids, provide movies, toys, puppet shows, etc.
If your hospital does not have a large Pediatric area, they may not have this type of thing.
Your child may just want rest type activities--Bring favorite movies from home--kids love repeating what they know; favorite books, books that pop-up or have music...
Most hospitals will allow you to pull the child in a wagon, if they have them or have one parent walk holding the child and one push the IV pole if she even has one. Bring foods she likes, cups she is used to. Bring a pillow and wear comfy stuff --sweat suit is good--it gets cold in the hospital.
I have entertained my kids on a plane by wrapping up small items--even stuff she would recognize from home--and let her open them every once in awhile.
Plan on staying with her and alternate with dad if possible. It's tiring being in the hospital. The nurses will need to check on her during the night. If you have other kids at home, remember this is also a big deal for them to have their life interrupted and for sis to be gone. Spend extra time with them, too.
Good luck!

Hi S., I know all too well of hospital stays. Be very thankful its only 1-2 nights. I was at CHOC with my son for two months straight. Although he was older than your daughter.
If its a Childrens hospital, they know that kids need to be entertained. No worries about that, really. They have everything you can think of there for kids (even things you didnt think of). If it's at a regular hospital, you need to take what makes her comfy and what she is used to playing with at home. Its not that difficult, just a little scary for them. Good Luck and God Bless.
M.

Hi S.....my son spent two nights in the hospital about 3 years ago...since she'd probably be going to a children's hospital or be on the pediatric floor...they usually have a room that has all sorts of things to entertain kids...where you can go borrow some books, toys and videos.....her room should have a tv...so you might want to take some of her favorite movies....hope this helps

OMGosh we had the same exact operation with my grandson at that age. Surgery went well, but the stay at Children's Hospital was horrible. We wish we would of taken him home right after. Make sure she gets her medications. They will be in pain !! My grandson suffered as the nursing staff did not do their job correctly. My kids left the next morning after surgery. They also said that they didn't allow both parents to stay, well both of my grandson's parents did stay. They took turns being up with him throughout the night. My grandson was in far too much pain to play with anything. After they got home and got him on his medications, all ran smoothly. He did want to take the bandage off of his neck, which we didn't allow. It healed nicely and you can't even tell he had surgery, he is 4 now. Bring a lot of pudding, and soft foods for her. Also bring milk and whatever else you can think to bring. My daughter would ask for different items, but no one ever brought her anything, not even diapers. She felt fortunate that she had packed so much in the diaper bag herself. We did write a letter to Children's Hospital on the very poor treatment we received. I hope yours goes a lot better. Just pack everything that you may need for the entire stay.

I have had dexperiences w/ CHOC. and If that is where you are, i wouldn't worry about it. to start off they have tv's in every room. and every floor has a play room. It isn't open all day-but you can take toys back to your room. Plus you can walk the halls. After surgery your daughter won't be as spunky-all she may just want to rest. You can call the hospital in advance and ask what services they have for kids.

My little one was in the hospital for several days when she was that age. It was really difficult to keep her from pulling on her IV and such but we brought bubbles in. She also could eat a little cheerios and her cup of water or maybe juice. She also could have some really small toys or a small doll, I think. I was in Picu so it may be different.

My first son was in and out of the hospital for the first 2-3 years of his life and I know what you mean. It can be a challenge to deal with this kind of challenging situation. Luckily in our situation, I also work at this hospital and we have play rooms for the patients. I did bring some of his favorite things so he could have them to play with and he was given some gifts too (small ones). Those were fun for him to look forward to as well. Where will your child be having her surgery? You can ask if there is a playroom there...on the 2nd day she might be feeling up to going to play or you can usually check some toys out and take them to her room...good luck!

Hi S.
My son was also in the hospital,but for about a week to have an abcess on his neck drained and heal. That really was the longest week, but what did make the time go by was a rec room the hospital(CHOC) had. They offered lots of fun activities he and my daughter could do. Most of them you could also do in your hospital room,which is what we did when he first came out of surgery and wasnt able to leave his room.
I just tried to do things with him and my daughter that we usually did at home.
We made neckalces,bracelets,layed with blocks,drew,painted,played with clay and made sculptures and had them dry at the window,had a telescope so he could look out the window and play.Its was impossible to keep him busy with an activity throughout the day,but to keep him and myself from going crazy staying in the room all day, we would walk around the hospital and with the ENT's o.k., I would also take him downstairs to the cafeteria to buy snacks.and we also brought a bunch of his favorite videos he could watch before we went to bed.

I would imagine that she'll be pretty sleepy after the procedure. I would imagine a favorite toy or familiar things from home plus mom will be just fine.

Do you have a laptop? When our daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 23 mos. and had to stay for 2 nights in the hospital, we brought the laptop so she could watch some dvds. Hopefully the hospital will have a playroom as well. Some favorite toys will also provide her some comfort. Best of luck to you!

OH YESSSSSSSSSSss

there's coloring, singing ABCs, reading, drawing, making up stories, balloon animals/creatures, braiding, workbooks for Pre-K, K to work on... there's counting songs, there's singing regular songs like OLD MCDONALD>.. etc...

There are so many things, arts & crafts you can do together as activities...

BE CREATIVE AND MAKE IT FUN FOR YOUR DAUGHTER AND NOT JUST WATCH TV AND MOVIES THE WHOLE TIME... Trust me she'll be greatful to do something new and out of the ordinary...

My son was in the hospital for 7 days due to asthma attack & flu.... it was easier the 2nd day after we did a routine.... Fun but I can't stand hospitals now... :-( plus take cushions or blankets for the sake of your back.....

Sometime within the last few months, Parents magazine ran a story on this. I have not experienced this myself (my daughter is just 2+ weeks old), but I remember thinking how helpful the article would be for parents going through this. Good luck.

A lot of pediatric units will have a child life specialist. This person brings toys to the room for the kids to play with after they have been completely sanitized. For the first day/night your daughter may just want to be held. You may be the one that needs entertaining. I was in the hospital for a week last year with my son (he was 21 months at the time) and for the first several days after surgery he would only want to be held and I was the only one he would want to hold him. Good luck!!

Does the hospital have a children's playroom? A DVD player? Coloring books, games, etc. My daughter was in the hospital the last few days of our vacation in Canada when she was two. But she was very sick so she mostly slept or watched a DVD.

We do this every two weeks for about 6 hours. My grandaughter (4) has j.r.a. & goes to c.h.l.a. Every 2 weeks for i.v. Treatment. I always go too since she is the love of my life!!! Clay, bendaroos, flash cards, crayons, books, dvd player with favorite flicks. Hand held games for her age. We pack up a bag full of distractions. You can also get a container & pack it with inexpensive odds & ends that will be new to your child. Go to target, dollar tree, places like that for interesting little toys & gadgets. She was also in millers childrens hospital for two weeks when she was 3 when she was being diagnosed but she was in so much pain (& fevers & rashes, part of the disease)she did not move. We were just trying to keep her tears away. It is heartbreaking!!! Her mother never left her side. The hospital will have a t.v. For you & most likely vidoes/dvds for you to use. My grandaughter is doing so well on this treatment! Good luck...C.

I have been there the first day will be easy she will probally be really sleepy from the anesthesia. If she is at Cedars or Childrens they have all kinds of toys books to entertain. Does she like books they are great to read if she will stay interested in them go to the library and get "new" stories. Bubbles are fun. If you have a portable DVD player pop in a movie to watch anything with music and bright colors will keep her attention for awhile. Go to the 99 or dollar store and pick up a bag full of toys anything new will keep interest for a short period. Good luck hope all goes well.

S. call your hospital and find out if they have a Child Life Specialist. They are trained to work with children in the hospital and usually have a playroom where they can go or they bring toys to the children. Oops, looks like thats been suggested. I would have lots of her favorite movies and books for her and maybe a magna doodle. But also remember anethesia takes a coulple of days to get out of your system so she may not feel too well, also it's very constipating, find out what you can do from the doctor so you don't have a misrible child once you get her home and she can't poop for a few days.

I've been there and done that more than once. I went to Wal-Mart and bought whatever new video was out (something that they hadn't seen). We watched videos, colored books, read stories, drew faces on balloons... Good luck! Having a little one in the hospital is never fun.

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