We had a tonsillectomy in our family this month. It was supposed to be “easy” surgery for a 3-year-old. It was not.
So, I got a chance to practice my respite-giving skills. I’m lucky that I live close enough that I can usually step in to help for an hour or two when the parents get exhausted. But there’s just no balm for fourteen consecutive nights of interrupted sleep. The best everyone can do is survival mode. The parents end up looking a little like this:
This is hilarious if you are the grandparent, and also heartbreaking because you can remember just how hard it was to cope with that kind of bone-deep exhaustion!
The Sick Day Playdatebox can also be used as preparation prior to a planned medical intervention (like a tonsillectomy) to prepare and reassure a child. Or, it’s a fun play date even if everyone feels just fine.
The Book: A Sick Day for Amos McGee
First of all, let’s introduce you to the star of the show, the book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee:
This beloved 2011 Caldecott Medal-Winning picture book tells the story of Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, and his best friends, who are all zoo animals. Every day, Amos spends time with his friends at the zoo. But one day, Amos is too sick to get out of bed, and his animal friends decide to return his kindness by keeping him company on his “sick day.”
There are a lot of reasons to love this book if you are a grandparent, and chief among them are the whimsical illustrations and the writer’s beautiful portrayal of how Amos takes care of the animals he loves. As writer Lindsey McDivitt has observed, “Amos is old and not their grandpa, yet the animals find him worthy of friendship.” See how long it takes your grandchild to notice the red balloon floating through almost every page. It makes a fun treasure hunt on a second or third reading.
The Activity: Animal Hospital (and Popsicles)
To recreate the activity, you’ll gather up supplies for a small zoo of your own, and turn the sick room into an animal hospital. If everyone is feeling up to it, you can make some simple fruit popsicles. These are great for soothing sore throats, and the recipe is simple enough that kids can help.
The Story: Once When I Was Really Sick…
If you have had your own experience being very sick or visiting a hospital, you could tell your grandchild a little bit about what that was like. Did you feel really icky? Were you afraid? Think about what they might be fearful about but can’t verbalize. They may simply need you to comfort them and let them know you understand they are hurting, especially when they are cranky!
Age: This play date is age-appropriate for kids ages 2-5 years
Cost: Free. This activity can be no-cost if you borrow the book from the library and use supplies from around the house, but I recommend a hardback copy of the book for your permanent library. A doctor’s kit is a great tool for open-ended play that your grandkids will use again and again.
Time Commitment: About 30 minutes, but you can stretch out the play for as long as your little one feels up to it.
Optional Playdate Supplies:
- Book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, hardcover; by Philip C. Stead (Author), and Erin E. Stead (Illustrator)
- A supply of stuffed animals
- A pretend doctor’s kit (optional)
- Any child-safe medical supplies you have around the house: tongue depressors, colorful bandages, strips of fabric for making bandages, cotton balls, etc.
- Popsicles, or other illness-friendly snacks. (See an easy recipe for Pineapple Mango Popsicles here).
Creating Your Own Animal Hospital
The animal hospital presents some fun opportunities for open-ended play, and playing with a child this way will help introduce opportunities for a preschooler to develop the fabulous skill of pretending. Pretending is an ability that you can encourage in the beginning by playing along. Keep your expectations low if your little one is sick. The goal is to give comfort to a child who doesn’t feel great.
Just gather a menagerie of stuffed animals from around the house. Your grandchild will become the doctor, nurse, or veterinarian responsible to help these sick animals get well again. You can imagine everything from a giraffe with a sore throat to a penguin with a broken wing. As you voice the ailments, your child can perform the checkup and dispense medications and advice. If grandma or grandpa are willing, they make great patients too.
Set up an animal X-ray station:
Use strips of felt or fabric to create wrappable bandages for your furry friends. This particular giraffe’s ear was bleeding.
Administering the hated pretend medication is always fun.
This giraffe needed a bandage over his bleeding ear.
We even polished the animal’s noses with an old makeup brush, just to make sure they were at their best. Giving a child control to use child-safe tools that they have seen grownups use is especially fun for preschoolers. This is why a doctor’s kit can have so much appeal.
Children are delightfully inventive, and grownups can help facilitate new kinds of play. This 3-year-old’s animal hospital required the use of many couch cushions and pillows, with different animals living in separate cages (couch cushions set on end). Our inventive veterinarian also set up a computer station with wedge pillows so her animal patients could enjoy a little “screen time” as she read them a book. This hospital was in business for several days, much to the dismay of anyone who wanted to sit on the couch.
Ideas for Long-Distance Grandparents:
I now keep a permanent Sick Day With Amos McGee Playdatebox on hand because I have several grandchildren and I have been called in more than once to help with sick kids. But if you are too far away to provide in-person help, a “gift” sick box might lift a child’s spirits. Just a call from you is enough, so it’s isn’t necessary to go to a lot of expense. If you are in a position to send a gift, consider sending the book so you can read together on a video call. Or, here are a few simple ideas:
- Purchase a special get-well stuffy just for this occasion:
- Ship a comfortable blanket for snuggling, a favorite sippy cup, or a few snacks approved in advance by the parents.
- Offer to entertain the child via video call just long enough for Mom or Dad to switch that load of dirty laundry or take a quick shower.
Gift for the New Mother or Grandmother
A copy of A Sick Day for Amos McGee makes a lovely baby shower gift for a new Mom. Add in some of the supplies she’ll need for a sick baby when that inevitable first illness happens: infant pain reliever, a NoseFrida nasal aspirator, and soft facial wipes.
Or, here’s a list if you want to add some extras into a Grandma Care Box as a gift for a Grandmother you love:
- Include a children’s pain reliever for Grandma to have on hand in emergencies.
- Fun and colorful kids’ bandages will be a hit with the grandkids, and she’ll use these all the time when little people visit.
- Add some fun popsicle molds and a printed recipe for homemade popsicles.
Special Notes for Grandparents:
Preparing for a Child’s Hospital Visit:
If you’ve ever experienced a surgery similar to the one your grandchild will be going through, you can work with parents to generate ideas for ways you might help. Perhaps a grandchild will benefit from your honest reassurance about what is going on, how much it might hurt, and how soon they will start feeling better. Research forms of Play Therapy that may help your child cope with the lack of control they feel when they are sick or have to visit the doctor. Play Therapy is common in hospitals, and with a little research, you may be able to duplicate some of these helpful play experiences at home.
It may be appropriate to let a child act out some of their aggression as they play with medical equipment and perform procedures on stuffed animals or dolls. It’s a coping mechanism for the lack of control they feel. Letting them play out their worries can be helpful.
Happy Playing, and I hope everyone feels better soon!
