How to Keep Your Child Busy in the Doctor’s Office Without Giving Him a Screen
The thing is not fun to do when you parent your young children to the pediatrician’s office. There are endless reasons why the doctor’s office is not enjoyable – it means that your child is hurt, sick, or has some kind of bizarre rash; it is an annual check-up, which may mean that they will be vaccinated in the future; your child will find unpleasant things to lick; and the doctor’s office will be reserved, so your child will have to wait.
We can not always protect them from injury, disease or the need for an injection, but we can keep them occupied without germs, as you sit in the lookout and waiting for your doctor: just bring a washable marker and a few stickers for decorating the paper cover of the examination table.
How to take a child in the pediatrician’s office
The idea comes from Susie Ellison of Busy Toddler ( whose Instagram feed is full of glitz , by the way). Allison says:
After countless times when my children checked the Lord of the Flies’ legitimacy during their checks … I came up with this trick many years ago and still do it every time.
BUY STICKER AND DOT STICKERS.
On paper, draw their names, letters, squiggles, math problems … NOTHING. This is a difficult job that requires attention and TIME (which we usually have plenty of while we wait).
This paper is one of the few things you can count on to be germ-free, and the doctor will throw it away anyway as soon as you walk out the door (although your child might want to take their masterpiece home with them, and that’s okay too ).
Allison offers an important caveat to ensure we do this responsibly: make sure the marker is washable (not Sharpies). And don’t forget to use this trick to make it easier to remove the stickers and make them less tiring for the little fingers.