Hobbies And Interests
Interactive Toys
Interactive educational games, such as those by LeapFrog, are a great way to keep your child occupied, entertained and intellectually stimulated while in the hospital. These devices offer children the chance to complete multiple levels of games that mix adventure with education for hours of entertainment.
Arts &Crafts
Create a gift basket that is filled with coloring books, markers, crayons and plenty of construction paper to allow a child to express his artistic nature while in the hospital. This type of gift is not only inexpensive, but will provide numerous opportunities for creative thought and expression.
You can also invest in arts and crafts kits that allow young children to make anything from stuffed animals and origami figures to planes and decorative butterflies. These types of kits help keep your child occupied and offer fun ways to build toys and other items that will accompany them during their hospital stay. They can be proudly displayed next to their hospital beds or given to visiting friends and family as a work of art.
Books
Children love to read and to be read to. Books help them take their mind off of their current situation and focus on something more interesting. Invest in books that the child has not already read and offer them as gifts. Books that contain plenty of pictures and larger-than-life stories are suitable for young children in the hospital. For children who have passed the picture book stage, choose books that contain more words or are interactive in nature, such as those which allow children to provide feedback by writing in them. These can be a great way to occupy time.