Doctors Waiting Room Ideas

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Hi Everyone!
I just recently took a job as a child life specialist for a local clinic. The clinic is pretty much a blank pallet. When I say "blank pallet" I mean the walls are white in both the waiting room and the exam rooms.
So, my question is this...What things do your children love to play with in the waiting room or in the exam room of their doctors office?
What types of things are on the walls?
What things do you as parents not like so much?
Do you have a wish list? If so what is on it?

Inquiring minds would like to know! I look forward to reading your responses!

TIA

 

[bookwormde]

I have never heard the term "child life specialist" just wonding what that involves.

Are you looking to ideas for NT kids, NV kids or both and what age range?

bookwormde

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

In short, a child life specialist supports children and their families through hospitalization and doctors visits. We make the medical world not so scary for kids. Some of the things we do: medical play, therapeutic play, preparation and distraction for procedures, family support, (and the list could go on and on...)

Childrens ages: Birth to 18+

I'm not familiar with NT and NV...please explain...This has been maybe the second time I've ventured onto this board.

Thanks!

 

[hillview]

I like books, plastic toys that can be wiped down. Play kitchen is usually a hit. Toys like the kitchen are easily shared seems like a good idea (vs say a puzzle). One doc office has a table with paper and crayons which seems like a good idea.

Pictures of lots of detail things (play "I spy" etc) like animals at a zoo or that sort of thing.

Clorex wipes

ETA: fish tanks are also popular!

HTH!
/hillary

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

The office uses some industrial strength wipes...even says on the label to wear gloves!!! So, we are more than covered there!

Love the I Spy picture idea...

 

[bookwormde]

Thank you for what you do to make difficult times in children’s lives a little easier.

NT = Neurologically typical and NV is Neurological variant. NT is the average person NV is someone who has had neurological trauma (physiological, environmental or developmental), has a single generation neurological mutation or has an evolutionary neurological genetic set that is significantly different from the majority of the population.

There are lots of parents (and individuals) on this board have Autism spectrum genetics which is the most common evolutionary genetic neurological variation.

If you are interested in learning about this area (probably 10% of the children you will deal with have clinical or sub clinical levels of this variation to the extent that in the stressful environment you work in they need extra support) I would recommend reading Tony Attwoods “the complete guide to Aspergers” C/2007 available on Amazon for about $17. He is the leading clinician in the field. What you learn is helpful with NT children in stressful situations since sensory sensitivities increase for them and innate social capabilities often do not apply effectively.

As to your broader question, having play areas with “dunk” disinfectable play items (lego for example). Expecting children to sit is chairs for extended periods of time when they are stressed is a less than optimal situation.

bookwormde

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Bookwormde:
Thank you for the clarification.
Ideas for both NT and NV would be helpful.

I love the job that I do! Knowing that I can help make the doctors world just a little easier is the best part!

Love the lego idea! That is one of those things that kids can play with for hours!

Also, I would like to throw out there...Are there any arts & crafts projects that I could put together that for kids to take with them would also be greatly appreciated. I have some of your typical ideas (friendship bracelets, boodoggle, bead critters, etc) but am always looking for new items for our kids to make and take. For the parents out there, what were some of your favorite art projects as a kid? What do your kids like to do???

TIA!

 

[Forevryoung]

Im a speech pathologist so I'm always on the constant lookout for toys/games/crafts that grab kids attention.

Big hit for crafts are foam stickers- they come in larger packs online (oriental trading and the like), kids can put them on paper (or other foam objects)

Color wonder products by crayola are expensive but may save money in the long run because they only work on the special color wonder paper and don't get on fabric or furniture

Mr. Potato head is great (pieces can easily be wiped) for a wide range of kids and can be a great shared activity

I'll keep thinking!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I love foam! It's my stand-by activity b/c you can do so much with it!

Mr. Potato Head...check!

 

[toi]

You have a fantastic job, and I am sooooo appreciative of what you do!!!!! We travel to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and they have child life specialists everywhere we go there. They are AWESOME!!!

They have tvs with dvd players, so when my son is feeling really bad and not very active, he can pick a dvd out their collection to watch. They also have a cart with toys for the kids to choose from. All of the toys are made of plastic and easily washed after each use: action figure, cars, polly pockets, legos, connect 4, etc.

As far as crafts, be careful about crayons, etc. My dd is anaphylactic to Red 40 with a contact allergy, and that is becoming a more common allergy. Crayola products do not have it in them, but some of the other brands do. We LOVE foam stickers and the foam crafts from Oriental Trading.

Thanks again for what you do for our kids!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

You have a fantastic job, and I am sooooo appreciative of what you do!!!!! We travel to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and they have child life specialists everywhere we go there. They are AWESOME!!!

They have tvs with dvd players, so when my son is feeling really bad and not very active, he can pick a dvd out their collection to watch. They also have a cart with toys for the kids to choose from. All of the toys are made of plastic and easily washed after each use: action figure, cars, polly pockets, legos, connect 4, etc.

As far as crafts, be careful about crayons, etc. My dd is anaphylactic to Red 40 with a contact allergy, and that is becoming a more common allergy. Crayola products do not have it in them, but some of the other brands do. We LOVE foam stickers and the foam crafts from Oriental Trading.

Thanks again for what you do for our kids!

Thank you for your kind words! This is actually a career change for me...that I totally stumbled upon by accident if you can believe that! I am very lucky to have found such a wonderful profession!

Thank you for the heads up on the Red 40. I would have never guessed and I am so glad that you mentioned it. Parents are our biggest resource when working with kids. They can decipher their child's "language," know their likes & dislikes, etc. It's little tid-bits like this that make me more conscious about things that I would have never even thought about.

 

[pipersmom]

We're also frequent fliers with child life Piper really loves doing crafts while we're waiting. The foamies are a great idea..they also usually have watercolors and the "smelly" markers, all the kids seem to really like those. I don't know the name of them, okay, I looked it up, lol..they are Enviro-Blocks..they look like colored packing peanuts, and when you spray them with water they stick together, Piper and the other kids seemed to really enjoy those as well. The train table also sees a lot of use. The exam rooms have eye-spy posters, so you should be able to find them online or something similar online. Hope this helps

 

[mom2cjm]

We have had lots of great experiences with Child Life!

One of our doctor's offices has a big chalkboard on the wall and all three of my kids (3, 7 & 10) love it!

Best Wishes,
Karen

 

[alizesmom]

Music in the background (children's) has been a hit with my kids who are very involved especially those with visual deficits. Bright colored murals on the wall (subject less important than colors) really great for those with hearing deficits. Easily held toys that make noise are also great for kids who can't use their hands well or are forever babies. Karen

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I'd like to add another giant "Thank you". My son has been admitted to peds twice this year, and had a few blood draws on other occasions. The CLS at both hospitals were wonderful.

My son is 2 1/2, so the things that he really liked may be a bit young for what you're looking for. The train table was a HUGE hit - to the point that we saved up and got him one at home for Christmas. They had a Foof chair with a lot of books that was another big hit. It's an enormous bean bag chair (about 6ft round).

As far as arts and crafts - try to have some of the big toddler crayons around. It seemed to be the one thing they never had. One of the hospitals had some streamers and construction paper so the kids could decorate the doors to their rooms, and their IV poles. It was pretty cool, and Christopher had fun wrapping paper on his pole. There was aslo stuff for making suncatchers for the windows, but it wasn't something we tried out.

Jen

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Toddler Crayons...check!