After two weeks of Olivia and I being sick, I was starting to run out of ideas to keep us busy. Normally I'm really good about coming up with activities, but with my pregnancy brain and being sick myself, I absolutely had no motivation for anything. Let alone brainstorming ideas.
The first week wasn't so bad with Olivia because it was just me sick. Going to the park, letting Olivia play with her water/sand table, running around outside, or even going to the local play places was entertaining enough for her. While I could just sit there and try to rest. As the saying goes... "No such thing as a sick day for moms.."
Now (this week) I'm at the end of this chest cold, but it's Olivia's week of the ickies. Her croup has turned into a typical chest cold like mine, and we are FINALLY seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
Only Problem now.
Boredom.
Maybe the first and second day of my toddler being sick we can get away with cuddling and watching movies all day. But now on day 5 the stir crazy is settling in! Luckily, I'm in a couple local mom groups on Facebook (ladies find some if you haven't already), I even started one myself. Anyways, I asked the ladies "What do you all do to keep your little one entertained when sick?" Most of the list they came up with we already have done, but others were surprisingly fun, not to mention creative.
Even for me!
- Chef Toddler- Whether it be sweets, a new recipe, or something typical. Baking always holds us over for about an hour to two.
- Painting/Drawing- Set up a station where your toddler can get full on messy but have tons of fun. At one point Olivia painted her own face! Even sick, she couldn't help but laugh at herself.
- Build A Fort- We build a big enough fort with blankets and pillows so that I could fit under it too. I brought out some of her favorite books and had a perfect cuddle story time.
- Movie Time- I go all out for this one. I even bring out the air mattress, set a bunch of pillows and blankets. Make some popcorn, snacks and chocolate milk. Plus it's calming.
- Glam It Up- My daughters favorite for sure! She has her own dress up clothes and heals, but I will bring out my clothes and some toddler friendly jewelry she can play with. You can do this with boys too. If you don't have costumes for him, get creative with your clothes or use your husbands.
- Sensory Activity- This could be anything from building blocks, counting games, memory cards, etc.
- Take A Bath- This one I must admit caught me off guard. They have "paint" for the bath and that was a HUGE hit and easy clean up!
- Get Your Craft On- This one is my favorite (since I obviously love anything made from her). Even if you don't have a lot, just pull out the most simplest stuff. Paper, glue and something she can glue onto the paper. I always have fun stuff like feathers but you can even find an old magazine or newspaper and cut it up into large pieces for them to paste onto the paper.
- Spa Day- This isn't exactly the cleanest activity. Set up a big enough station that you aren't afraid of getting wet or ruined. I get a large old Tupperware container, fill it with warm soap water and a scrubby of your choice. Olivia loves "cleaning" my feet and I do the same to her. Then we put on lotion. I paint her nails and I even let her paint MINE! Be sure to always use non-toxic kid safe nail polish if you do decide this because it can and will get everywhere.
- Book About Me- This one is so cute! Find a bunch of old photos of your toddler. You can cut their head off or cut the whole body. Get a few pages of printer paper, fold in half and staple. Then take the cut out of your child and make a book about them! They love it and can relate.
There you go parents, your top 10 sick day activities asked and answered by REAL parents. If you have something even more creative that you would like to add, be sure to add a comment below what you guys do on your "sick" days!
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