11-Year Old by in Hospital for 3 Weeks...

M.,

I just wanted to add to another response. Since the visitors are over 14 his school friends probably aren't allowed to see him. My thought is to video tape his friends talking about how they hope to see him when he gets home. He will be able to play this over and over when he is frustrated and feeling alone. I don't know if there is internet hook up in the ICU but if you are able to borrow a laptop and get a couple webcams, his friends can "visit" him through that.

Just a few thoughts,

Evelyn

The best teacher I ever had (all through my Master's) was my junior/senior English HS teacher. When she was 12 she spent the summer in bed and discovered Shakespeare.
It can be a challenging experience that opens a new door.

I'd also suggest chess, which he could play with a computer or online with others. I used to play it via CB radio.

Or learn a language by listening to immersion CDs.

good luck to you both!

How about an origami kit? I think I've seen them at Barnes and Noble or maybe Borders. It would take up little space. Also available at Barnes and Noble is a Mandala coloring kit. Manadalas are healing in themselves. Here's a link in case you don't know what they are. I've also picked a short excerpt
from it.

http://www.mandalaproject.org/What/Index.html

Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes "a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness." It is "a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence." Jung used the mandala for his own personal growth and wrote about his experiences.

Poor kiddo!! Praying it all turns out well for him soon!

My son has been in the hospital for extended stays multiple times. Board games are one of our favorites. I try to find ones that help him mentally where he is developmentally, and then some just fun ones too. Like Scramble is great for spelling and problem solving, or Monopoly is good for reasoning and math skills. Magazines about different subjects are fun... I have gotten ones about milatary planes and his great grandpa would look at it with him and share stories from when he served our country in war time. Anything to use as a springboard for conversation is great! ( I feel that our kids today don't know HOW to have conversations very well so I used this time to really help my son learn to listen and ask leading questions) We also do art... lots of fun. You can get the platic drop cloths really cheap to cover the area and then get messy! We have used washable paint in squirt bottles, finger painted, modeling clay.... all sorts of stuff. Really helps with creativity!

Every circumstance, no matter how devestating or frustrating, has a silver lining. I have always used these times to really connect with my son, give tools for others to connect deeper with him, and help to teach him that he is far more than his physical body! (This is important with my son due to his disability, but as you God son is demonstrating, things happen to all of us!)

Get creative and have fun with him :)

I sure hope everything goes great for him and he gets out quicker!! :O) my prayers are with him.
Maybe you could go and video his family at home and they could talk to him on the video. Or video his friends doing what they all like to do. That way he can watch it any time he wants company. And then turn the tables and video him for the family or friends. Let him give his siblings or friends an update on what is going on.
Take care
B.

Hi micheele, what about puzzles or draing paper and markers? J. PS Hope he gets well soon. J.

Ohh poor guy! I have an 11 year old boy too and I just cannot imagine him in that situation, God bless you for helping him keep up his spirits.

If he can have access to a laptop it might be kinda fun to let him start a blog. They are free at blogspot.com and he can get responses from friends and family. He might feel some freedom in expressing himself that way. Also, my son LOVES to listen to books on CD and Radio Theater. Focus on the Family has a series called Adventures in Odyssey that even my 19 year likes to listen to. We recently got the Narnia series in the radio theater format to listen to on a long car trip. It was great and he's listened to them more than once! Your local library should have a decent selection of books on CD.

Hope this helps!

Sorry to hear that he is in the hospital. Not sure if this is something that he would do, but how about scrapbooking his "hospital experience"? He could have someone take pictures of things around the hospital, then print the pics and give him a selection of paper, or a scrapbooking kit, and let him scrap his hospital visit for memories!

Just a thought! I know scrapbooking is more of a "girly" thing, but, some boys do enjoy it. Plus it helps him remember this experience forever. While he is waiting for the photos, he could be writing down thoughts in a journal or something, so he will have things to say near each photo.

Hope this helps (and is not too late!) Good luck to your Godson!

Hi M.

Some hospitals have pet therapy and allow dogs to see patients. If he is a dog/pet lover, you may want to ask the hospital if they offer this service. Or you could ask them if you could bring in a pet.
Hope this helps!
S.

We play a story-line game. You start with a sentence and the next person says a sentence and so on unitl you have a very funny story. It always makes us laugh.

Geppettos Toy Store has a lap harp that can be played while laying down. Geppettos Corp Hdqtrs is in La Jolla, CA. I don't have the box that my son's came in anymore, but it costs something like $39, has the nepene^ouka (the one letter is a symbol that looks like an upsidedown V) and music sheets can be purchased separately I believe. The music sheets are what make this playable for even the beginner - it's like follow the dots. The music slides beneath the strings of the instrument and one plucks the string above the dots, following the dots (music notes) from left to right. so, even beginners can play Ode to Joy. Oh, just found the page with the name - Music Maker. And here is a phone # for this company - 800-799-2205 or check the web site at www.europeanexpressions.com.
Good luck.

Sorry your Godson is stuck like that, but I'm glad he's going to recover!

Great ideas so far, and I just wanted to add foam craft kits. Maybe he can put something together. Or a model car/plane, etc.

Best of luck to him beating the boredom!

Does he have a physical therapist working with him? Normally if someone is on bedrest for that length of time they will. You should talk to them about what exercises he can do and turn these activities into a game or challenge with some kind of reward chart for when he gets off of the bed rest. Is he into LEGO still? Even if he had sort of grown out of it you could get him a complicated one to build as this can be done while lying down and will get his mind and hands busy. I don't think boys ever grow out of the love of building things, so any kind of building options may help. Good luck and we wish him a speedy recovery

Hi, sorry to hear your godson is in bedrest. I hope he recovers fully and quick.
One suggestion- If he has siblings, cousins, friends, etc... other people...have them make short movies for him. I use my digital camera since it has the movie/video feature, most of them do now a days. My boys make and send movies via internet and sometimes just upload them into the computer then download them onto a cd for us or their cousins in AZ and IL to view as a dvd. I know my son's and their friends and cousins always enjoy viewing their goofy videos.
He may also enjoy books from Highlights SITE http://www.highlights.com/azsearch.jsp?q=hidden+picture+b...
these hidden picture books are fun for long drives and long waiting periods so he may enjoy them.
Hope it helps.

Is he still into boy scouts? If so, what badges does he need to work on? Is there something there that he can do in the hospital? Legos. My nephews both are into them...one's 16 and the other is 4. When they need to "play" or have alone time, Legos are always there to rescue them.

Books...I know 11 yr olds don't really like to read much (at least the one's I've met), but comics are good, and any popular Tween books. Go to a local book store and ask for advice. They are typically very helpful. Or go to the Library and check some out if you don't want to purchase them.

Does anyone in the family have a laptop that he can use for perhaps doing some research or investigation? Maybe downloading some tunes to listen to? Maybe he can learn to blog or create an internet site. Kids are into that big time these days. And if he still is involved with boy scouts, then he could be working on badges via the computer and stuff possibly. It's been a while since my brothers were that little to remember what kinds of badges they work on these days. ;-)

Maybe he can create his own comics. My 16 yr old nephew always does that...he creates the story, draws out the story board, prints it up at Kinkos and shares it with his buddies. I'm not sure if your Godson likes to draw, but that's an idea.

And it's always good to find out if he wants to see any of his friends. Maybe one friend at a time to visit him might be nice? It'll help pass the time, and they can talk about whatever.

Good luck. And hope he recovers quickly and well!

Cheers, C.

Hi M.,

How about a service project? He can probably relate more than most to our service people who are bed bound for weeks. Maybe he could write some commiseration letters to soldiers recovering in the VA.

Another thought, but a little noisy -- a keyboard can be played laying prone, and so can a recorder (transverse flute), especially if he can lay with his head and shoulders over the edge of the bed with the instrument and/or music stand beneath him. This may be a good opportunity for him to discover and develop a musical talent.

Sculpting with clay and pipecleaners are fun, too. Borders and other books, and places like Michaels sell complete craft kits, some of which might work lying down if a table can be placed below him. Starting a model-building hobby might be possible in the prone position, too.

How about giving him a voice recorder and encouraging him to dictate a journal, compose poetry or write some short stories? Some digital recorders can feed directly into a computer for transcription of voice to text. He can even publish if his stuff is good enough.

Encourage him to make up his own games. If he comes up with good ones, use it as a starting point for putting together a book of games for the bed bound or a boxed game for the bed bound. It's never too young to become an entrepreneur!

The BSA badge idea is a good one, too. At 11 I'm guessing that he has just left Webelos for Scouts. Much of the material for Tenderfoot involves studying from the manual. Now's a good time! He can also use the time to plan out what activities he will want to undertake for badge work once he's up and about again. If he's still a Webelo, he can work on things like the religious awards and academic based activity pins (sounds like sports will be out for a while).

I wish your godson a fully and speedy recovery!

R.

My thoughts go out to him! When I was 7 I was bend-bound in traction in the hospital for a week. I know how hard it is to sit still and not be able to get out of bed.

If he likes computers, would he be interested in learning and I know Photoshop, Final Cut Pro (video editing) or even InDesign (page layout) can all seem fun and like video games while learning a new skill. My 11-year-old nephew wants to be a game designer when he grows up, so he spends time with graphics stuff on the computer.

Also, if his friends can't visit, can he talk to them on the phone? Perhaps you can get him a cell phone that he can call them and chat. I like someone's suggestion of videotaping his friends.

Finally, perhaps help him plan something he can do when he gets out. If he has a desire to help, say with animals or the environment, help him plan a project to do that. For example, perhaps he loves animals and he is going to start his own dog walking business. Or maybe he wants to raise money to help an animal rescue organization. These are things he can spend time contemplating then writing down as ideas come to him.

Even better, ask him to come up with ideas for other kids who are bed-ridden or in the hospital. Perhaps focusing on helping others in the same situation will assist in helping himself. Have him compile a list which he can leave with the nurses when it's his time to go.

I hope he is better and home soon!!
Take care,
B.

When my neice was hospitalized, we played a lot of board games. They make travel sized Battleship and all sorts of others. That way he is interacting with others instead of being plugged into a video game.

When I was a little girl and in the hospital, an adult friend gave me a book on Japanese Oragami. It came with lots of colored papers and easy to follow directions. I remember spending many hours making things I could then give to people who visited me. It may keep him busy for a little while.... - L.

Maybe see if he's up for drawing or painting. Boys usually like to draw with chalk pencils or felt tip pens. This may mix up the mundane until he can escape the hospital.

K.
Mom-to-be

Hi I have an 11 year old too. He loves to draw and read comic books. These things can be done in bed. If you buy him a "how to draw" book to give him more ideas of what to draw and comics of the heroes he likes. Also you can bring card games trading cards and regular cards and teach him how to play solitaire. Good luck to you!

Poor kid, glad to hear he's going to be OK!

If he's academic how about learning a foreign language with books on tape. If he has access to a computer (Mac) he might like garage band, my kids that age love it, they make their own music mixes. If he has a computer he can also learn to touch type or play chess. If he's artistic what about neede point or knitting? My very athletic son loves them, he say's it's calming. Good luck.

Poor kiddo! There are computer programs/software that he could use to design things....kind of like graphic designs, etc. Unfortunately, I don't know the names, but you could probably find somethng searching online. Also, what about some other games that require him to think...what is he interested in? Art? Music? Sports? This might help me to generate more helpful ideas....
L.

Hi M.,
Sorry to hear your godson is having to go through this. It must be like torture for him.
There are lots of great options for him. He can do art projects (paint by number, drawing, crocheting, etc). I know the crocheting sounds odd, but I taught all my 5th graders (boys included) how to crochet scarves for our servicemen and they LOVED it. It burns a lot of energy and requires concentration.
Another great option would be board games such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Battleship. Additionally there are great mind benders such as: Sudoku, crossword puzzles, mazes, word finds, etc. All of these stimulate the mind and will keep him occupied.

Those are great ideas! To add to the suggestions of board games, my thought is to buy the car version/travel version of the games, because they're created so the pieces stay in place--should be easier to balance when he's on his back or side. Hugs and prayers to you and your godson!