Sick and Tired But Not Your Child

Being sick, ESPECIALLY with an energetic little toddler in the house, is NEVER fun. So here are some ideas forf keeping your little one busy without keeping them caged in the crib or their room all day. Baby Center came up with 40 ways and I picked my favorites to share with you. To see the rest go to babycenter.com. A lot of these are ideas for older kids! -  Rejoicing in the Present

1. My son likes to write Grandma a "letter." I open up a blank document on our laptop and set the font to a large size, and he types letters and numbers. – athenalady
2. My daughter and I set up a tent, which I lie down in. She pulls out a pile of books and we pretend we're camping. – mistofviolets
3. If you don't mind thinking while you're lying there, try this storytelling game. I pretend that I'm a very old man who can't move and who has an important story to tell – but I can only remember the story by looking at various objects that the kids bring back to me. So I send them all over the house for things like scarves, stuffed animals, and whatnot. If you can spin a story, you'd be surprised how long you can keep them entertained running around the house. – The Dadler
4. My son and I play online games that teach cause and effect, letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. – athenalady
5. I love "Read Me the Story." My son is 2 and he'll perch next to me on the couch with one of his favorite books and try to re-tell the story as he pages through it. Sometimes it's the real story, and sometimes he just 
6. We sit on the couch or in my bed, draw, then play "What did I draw?" – MommyB
7. My daughter plays "Special Delivery." She picks a random toy or object in the house and wraps it up in scrap paper. (Newspaper or a paper grocery bag works great, too.) Then she "addresses" the package to me. Finally, she knocks on the door of the room I'm in and calls, "Special delivery!" I invite her to come in, accept and open the package, and ooh and aah over it. Then she does it all over again with something else. She can keep this up for more than an hour, and I don't have to move! – eulalia
8. If I need to sleep, I use a timer so that my boys know exactly how long I'll be out of commission. Usually just a 1-hour power nap will do wonders. – hummingbird41
9. I can keep my younger daughter entertained for quite a while with this game. I lie on the couch and say "peekaboo," and she runs to the end of the couch, squats down behind the arm so I can't see her, then pops up and does her best to say "I see you!" –Aphera
10. I set up a fort with the sofa cushions and gate off the area so my son can't wander off. Then I assemble some toys and snacks for him and get everything I need around me, like tissues and the remote, so I won't have to get up. I play some toddler shows on the TV, which he loves. When he gets bored with that, he plays with his toys or has a snack. – lh914
11. Get your child to pretend that you're a queen (or king) who never gets off her throne and must be waited on hand and foot. Just remember that when you feel better, it'll be payback time! – mistofviolets
12. I set up my baby in his highchair with a few tiny bowls of yogurt that I've made different colors by adding a few drops of food coloring. I let him smear it on his tray like fingerpaint, and I can sit down and relax while he's playing because I know it's fine if he licks his fingers. – eulalia
13. I taught my girls the quiet game. The first one to talk above a whisper loses, and whoever wins gets a prize! I get at least 30 minutes of somewhat quiet so I can rest. – MrsSignor
14. A good one is barbershop or salon. My daughter loves to brush my hair, put lotion on my legs, etc. It will keep her busy for hours! – Heather
15. The game I like is "I'm the Baby." You lie in bed and your kids pretend that you're a baby they're putting to bed. My girls will stroke my hair, read me stories, sing me lullabies – it's awesome. I drag that one out as long as I possibly can. – Tracie
16. Sometimes you just can't suck it up. If my husband and I are both really sick, we send our daughter to his mom's house. – JP0408