My brother-in-law not only has two very active little girls, he also has multiple sclerosis. As a single dad, he doesn’t get to “call in sick” when he has an MS flare up. While he manages to prepare meals, get the girls ready for school and take care of a few chores, he has also come up with a pretty good arsenal of games to play with my nieces while still getting some much needed rest to recover. With all of the flu, colds, and allergy-related yuckiness going around right now, here are a few of his tried-and-true activities for you to use when you’re under the weather.
- Play beauty salon. Let the kids brush your hair, add accessories, pretend to put make-up and nail polish on (especially fun with Dad!) Gimme Clips are a great addition for this game.
- Mom/Dad needs a Doctor. My nieces are aspiring doctors and will gladly give their dad a check-up in their “office” (it closely resembles the couch.) This process generally ends with bandages and a hieroglyphic prescription for M&M medicine. A kid’s doctor kit would definitely come in handy!
- Build a fort. What’s better than a place where you are required to lay down because of the small space? Have a camp out and let the kids forage for “food”. This is a good place to read books together. Especially fun if you have flashlights. If you want to avoid pulling out sheets and blankets, check out Fortamajig.
- Scavenger hunt. This old stand-by can be modified to suit the ages of your kids. “Bring me something purple” is good for young ones, but up the difficulty to “find ten different things that contain a triangle” for the bigger kids. This also comes in handy if you need something…”bring a pillow with a yellow pillowcase”!
- Simon Says. Of course you’re Simon! The sillier the instructions, the more they giggle.
- Dance party! These mini ballerinas are always ready to create new costumes and try out their latest interpretive dance moves for any willing audience. All you have to do is throw on some soothing music.
- Let them be the parent. This one isn’t as scary as it sounds. The girls love to play house, so they take over and take care of him. They tuck him in, read him a story, then order him to take a nap!
Whether illness, pregnancy, headache or those always inconvenient cramps, pull out a couple of these activities. You can still spend time with your little ones and not have to resort to parking them in front of the television.
Leave a Reply