Hospital Stay Activities

Updated on May 28, 2015
J.P. asks from Woodridge, IL
13 answers

Looking to put together a care package for a friend's son. He's eight and about to be in the hospital for at least two weeks this summer following surgery. What can I send to keep his brain from turning to mush from too much TV?! Thanks for the ideas :)

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T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Books/comic books, activity books (games, word searches, etc.) legos, small containers of play doh, paper/good quality colored pencils and/or markers, hard candies, a small sweet stuffed animal (yes even little boys love a cuddle!)

4 moms found this helpful

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S.T.

answers from New York on

If he's going to be in the hospital for two weeks he's having some intense treatment or surgery and is not going to feel much like activities. These days hospitalization is really jsut for acute care that cant be done at home. If he's going to have a tablet to watch movies on maybe a giftcard for amazon or itunes so he can download movies / games, etc. Ask his mom if he's going to have internet access. Hospital rooms have very little storage so the smaller and more comfact the gifts, the better.

You are sweet for thinking about him and his needs.

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P.K.

answers from New York on

Depending on the surgery he is having, TV is all he might be interested in. His brain will not suffer trust me. Ask his Mom what he likes.

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M.G.

answers from Portland on

Small Lego pack (you can get in small sizes) or just Lego blocks (without kit). Books. Comics (or those kid magazines where there are word finds, etc.). Puzzles. If he collects hockey cards or Pokémon etc. some cards for his collection (kids we know took those in and shared with other kids in hospital). A game (he could play with visitors or other kids in hospital). We gave a child a Rubik's cube - they mastered it.

Sounds like nice idea :)

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

Legos
Books
Books on cd
Old series shows at 8 my son was wild about gilligans island and the munsters
Word search
Where's Waldo type books
Origami

3 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

audio books!
khairete
S.

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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

We gave our niece a couple of art kits. Maybe something to put together or something to paint? Walmart has a lot of $10 - $20 art kits - cars to paint, things to make with clay.

It's ok for his brain to get a little mushy from tv. I wouldn't want to be in the hospital for 2 weeks, and I think I'd handle it much better than an 8 year old.

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L.A.

answers from Austin on

Take a cookie sheet and give him some small puzzles to work, the cookie sheet with sides will help him keep the pieces on the tray. Have him lay a towel on the rolling table then place the tray on top. Our daughter loved this when she was in the hospital.
Ziploc Bags help to keep the loose pieces together. .

Keep in mind, there is nothing bad about a little bit of TV. He may be really tired and will sleep a lot, so TV is a good way for him to rest his mind. In the children's hospital they have all sorts of things for the children to watch.

Plain paper and colored pencils (with sharpener) or crayons..

3 moms found this helpful

L.L.

answers from Dover on

Educational but fun games for his electronic device or on an ipad. Crosswords, word searches, or fill its. Books (especially if you can buy or rent the movie from the library so he can enjoy both formats) or comic books even. Puzzles, Legos, art set and pad, coloring books, and/or small crafts.

2 moms found this helpful
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H.W.

answers from Portland on

My eight year old son love origami; a simple guidebook might help them along, or some of the "origami yoda" printouts you can easily find online.

A couple favorite chapter books or one of those fun Ripley's Believe it or Not books.... boys that age seem to like these.

Activity book from a favorite show/movie.
Notepad and markers/pencils.

Audio books are great. We love those... headphones would be necessary, through, unless he has his own room.

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K.M.

answers from Fayetteville on

My 7 year old had open heart surgery 2 years ago. Friends/family were so generous with care packages. Honestly, we brought about 1/10 of the stuff to the hospital (and that amount almost filled a small suitcase). He was only inpatient for 10 days and didn't touch most of it. He was tired, medicated, and just wanted to rest. We didn't want to overstimulate him with games, toys, and TV. Also, if your friend's son is a children's hospital, they have a child life department. Child life provides 'entertainment'--they have movies, games, toys, and tons of stuff to give kids (my son got a Lego set and coloring book/crayons). I would suggest a book and a pair of fun socks. Trust me, mom and dad don't want to haul tons of stuff in. And, he may not be in for 2 weeks. They told us to prepare for up to a month and our son was out in 10 days.

Are your friends traveling for surgery? We traveled out of state for our son's surgery and friends gave us gift cards (Starbucks, Dunkin' donuts) which was very thoughtful and useful.

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O.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I don't know if they still sell them but we got my mom a pillow pet for her when she was in the hospital. She loved it! lol And now they make those ones that at night make the light show on the ceiling, I can't remember what they are called...Dream something.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about trying to keep him busy so he isn't just watching TV. He won't feel great, will probably sleep on and off with everyone coming and going. I think you've gotten a lot of good ideas. Maybe get him some of his favorite snacks since some hospital food can be gross. Good luck.

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L.Z.

answers from Seattle on

mini paper robot craft kit from Michaels, audio books, action figures, card games, mini lego sets, hidden picture books (loved that idea below), mad-lib books, comic books, sports magazines for kids

2 moms found this helpful
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