Unique Toys/Gifts for Kids in Hospital

[LaRoseRN]

Hi there!

I am compiling a list of gift ideas/toys that are particularly good for sick kids - both in the hospital and at home. Aside from the normal things like puzzles, and art supplies, what clever or popular items have you seen at the bedside that help kids get through their treatment?

One of my parents recently brought in a bunch of those removable plastic wall decals and completely decorated his daughter's room. It looked amazing!

I've also had a lot of moms rave about these little ice-bears that you keep in the freezer. Not sure who makes them.

Queesy-pops & queesy-drops have been great for our chemo-kids during treatment.

What else??

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

When I worked in the hospital, we had a program similar to this:

Beads of Courage - Arts in Medicine for Children with Serious Illness

(I'm not sure if we officially participated in the program as no hospitals in my state are on their list of participating hospitals or if we stole the idea and pretended it was ours. Based on what I know about my former hospital, I'd guess the latter.)

It was something for the kids to look forward to... they knew that if they got their port accessed or had an MRI, another bead was waiting for them on the other side so it was an incentive for them to cooperate.