How to Amuse Your Convalescent Child?

Make your child's convalescence a time of rest and profit

You may be at a loss, Madam, for a way to amuse your convalescent child; he has recovered from his illness, but he must still stay a few days more in bed. With what, then, will you amuse him, and how?... His nerves may grow frayed at the feeling that he must keep to his bed while he is well again, and you will wear yourself out treating him and tending him. What is the way, then, to pass this period with the least possible fatigue and the greatest possible enjoyment?

Here is what some women do in the West: perhaps you will find among these methods what suits your child's temperament and keeps him company — then you can choose and need not be at a loss:

Order first: Always begin by organizing his day. There is a time for meals and a time for play, and likewise for bathing and sleep; and there is no harm in giving your child room to take part in this order: leave on his shoulders, for instance, the responsibility of swallowing his medicine, and put near him a clock to remind him of its appointed hours — you will find in him a faithful "assistant"... Children, moreover, delight in their parents' praise, so do not forget to give him his due of it whenever he has earned it...

...And it goes without saying that the atmosphere of the room has its effect in shaping the spirits of the sick little one: a few flowers, or a pretty bedspread, or a brightly colored doll, and other such small things make the room's atmosphere companionable and cheerful. It is also nice for the walls of his room to be adorned with a few pictures, clear in line and of good size, so that their details do not pass beyond the patient's range of sight. And there is no harm in changing these now and then, by picking out some of what is published in the magazines — whatever pleases you, of course — and setting it in a suitable frame or pasting it onto a sheet of cardboard...

Meals: What makes meals easy to take is a special tray, raised so that it stands level over the patient's lap... Some of these trays are made in different shapes and serve for reading, drawing, and the like as well... And if some member of the family is practiced in handiwork, he can make a similar tray himself out of a sheet of plywood raised on wooden supports and covered with a pretty, washable cloth... And there is a way simpler than either, and free of any expense: balance a wooden board across two chairs on either side of the bed...

If the convalescence drags on, the patient rests most comfortably in a bed on the pattern of hospital beds, raised and lowered as the patient's need requires... And if he amuses himself with painting and uses colors or pastes, cover the bed with an old sheet and set near it a small wastebasket, and within reach of his hand an electric bell to press when he needs you.

The moral supports: A sick little girl is delighted with colored ribbons to adorn her hair, or a bright jacket to wear in bed, or again a new dress for her doll; likewise a boy takes pride in a fancy cap or in pajamas that please him... Let your patient always be well groomed in bed, and let him take the trouble over it himself, then look in the mirror at the result of his elegance; in that he finds a feeling of comfort and good cheer.

Plants and flowers: It needs no telling what pleasure the sight of flowers gives the patient: so do not withhold your care from them; put, for instance, some flower bulbs in a vessel filled with water, and set a number of pebbles in with them — they will soon grow and open into a little garden... Likewise fish glittering in a bowl of water, or a canary or a goldfinch in an attractive cage, will cheer the patient with its songs.

The box of old things: A collection of things that have gone out of daily use is enough to entertain the little one in his bed; do not bring it out except in times of sickness, lest it lose its novelty and charm...
And what can you put into it? Anything: from holiday greeting cards to old playing cards, hats, remnants of clothes, ribbons, artificial flowers, old jewelry, watches, cigarette boxes, mirrors stripped of their mother-of-pearl, old dolls, and so on... The little one finds every delight and solace in discovering them.

And do not forget, Madam, that little ones in bed incline to games that demand of them less effort than those that amused them in full health: what pleases the convalescent, for instance, is pasting pictures he fancies, chosen from the magazines, onto cardboard, and arranging them in different shapes, or joining together shells he has gathered from the shore with some glue...

A girl sometimes loves to knit wool or to sew clothes for her doll... And there is one amusement that pleases all children: blowing into water mixed with soap or the like and playing with its bubbles. And if your child has a hobby of his own, let him practice it during his sickness, or suggest some new hobbies to him, such as collecting postage stamps, or the leaves of different plants, or coins according to their shapes and kinds.

There are also reading books; during his sickness let them be adorned with drawings and pictures, and easy to hold; and there is the music provided him by an ordinary radio set, or by some records made specially for the young...
Little ones by their nature love to feel that they can help their kin. So if your little one's illness is not contagious, let him help you in tidying some drawers or dishes, or again in cleaning the vegetables...
As for schoolwork, let him have a holiday from it, if his teachers allow.
With a little thought and skill you can, Madam, make your patient's convalescence a time of rest and profit.

Translated by: Umayma Riz