Parenting Toddlers when You Have a Chronic Illness

Tips to Entertain Children when You Don't Have the Energy

Parenting a toddler takes a lot of time, energy, patience and love and raising children is a hard but rewarding job. In the best of circumstances, parenting can be trying and even the best of us will make mistakes along the way. Raising a family when you have a chronic illness takes some creativity at times but the child or children can still have a memorable, rewarding childhood that is filled with love.

One common mistake that is made by chronically ill parents is they feel guilty about their illness or illnesses and worry continuously about the affect their illness is having on their children. Children are very observant and they may pick up on your guilt and somehow blame themselves for your illness. Worry only makes the illness worse and uses up energy. It is important to realize that even though you are sick, you can still show your children love and attention.

Depending on when you became ill can determine how much of an adjustment it will be for your children. My son has only known me chronically ill, so to him our life is normal.

Here are some helpful tips that I have learned along the way through my own life experiences with chronic illness and parenting a toddler.

It's not always what you do with your child, it's spending quality time with them that counts. Young children like to be kept physically entertained, but if you have a chronic illness this may be impossible to do on a regular basis. At what time of day are you at your best physically? If it is the morning, then use this time to do some physical activity with your child.

Find activities to have on hand that you can do together if you are lying in bed, sitting on the couch, or sitting on the floor. If you are having a bad day and physically are not able to do much, work on a small puzzle, read a book, color, play cards, or work on activity books and flash cards.

If your illness keeps you in bed a lot of the time, have an activity center or create a play area in your bedroom where your toddler can play.

At times, chronic illness can make it difficult to even read to our children. For these instances, have on hand audio books to entertain your child.