Whether it’s morning sickness, the flu, or a hangover from being up all night with a needy baby, these low-energy ideas will help you entertain kids when you’re exhausted. 

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If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen that our little family shared some fun news recently: a new bundle of joy will be arriving at our house in September of this year!

Introducing baby BOY #3! Apparently, we only make boys around here, but that’s okay because I LOVE being a boy mom. Before my first, I was nervous about having boys since I’m more of a girly-girl, but almost five years later, I’ve learned to love dinosaurs, construction vehicles, and all things dirt. Hooray for boys!

While I don’t get super sick during pregnancy, this one has definitely been my hardest—February was a blur of ginger ale, apples, crackers, and “ick.”

Now that I’m past the worst, I’m sharing the super easy activities that kept my kids entertained the past few months while mommy was in survival mode.

Whether it’s morning sickness, the flu, or exhaustion from being up all night with a needy baby, these low-energy ideas will help you play with your kids without getting off the couch…at least very much.

How to entertain kids when you’re exhausted

1. The Sleeping Dragon Game

You pretend to be the sleeping dragon who has a treasure while your child tries to steal it. Simply choose a toy (we actually have a little treasure box that my boys love, but we’ve used other toys or stuffed animals, too) and lay down on the couch or floor with the “treasure” next to you. Your child’s quest is to tip-toe as quietly as possible across the room and steal the treasure before you wake up. If you hear him or her, open your eyes, growl and send the brave knight running back to the other side of the room to try again. My kids LOVE this, and I only have to lift my head occasionally.

2. Play Doctor

You ARE sick, after all, so milk it for all it’s worth. Have your child be the doctor and fix your various injuries and illnesses. We gave this little doctor kit to our kids a year ago for Christmas, and it’s gotten lots of use. Sometimes they want to take a turn being the patient, too, but being the doctor is still pretty low on the energy-requirement scale.

3. Indoor Obstacle Course (You get to be the timer)

This is a great way to wear the kids out without having to run around with them. Just gather items from around the house, or use the furniture as it stands, and make an obstacle course with your child…think American Ninja Warrior. For example, crawl under the kitchen table, go around the couch, hop on the pillows, walk across the blanket “bridge”, and tag the door to finish. You can make it as complex or simple as you want. My preschooler will do the same course over and over again, trying to go faster each time. I sit on the couch and time him and cheer him on, happily not moving.

4. Dig in Cloud Dough

If you’re okay with cleaning up a very sweepable (I love making up words) mess after a good, long play session, break out the sensory bins. This two-ingredient cloud dough has gotten us through many winter days of the boys happily digging and scooping. They usually need a bath afterwards, but it usually keeps them busy for at least a half hour, often more. Plus, bathtime is just one more way to keep the kids happy and contained!

5. Break out the Rice Bin

For the past six months, my toddler’s absolute favorite activity has been digging in a bin of rice. It’s just a rectangular bucket (actually the one they sent me home with from the hospital filled with goodies when he was born) that I dumped a bunch of regular, cheap white rice in. I swear, this child is going to be an engineer or something with as much as he loves tinkering. He will literally play with a bin of rice for over an hour independently. He’s pretty good about keeping it in the bin for the most part, but inevitably some spills on the table and floor. Still, it sweeps up super easily (even more so than cloud dough), so I’m willing to sweep for five minutes after getting an hour of play from such a simple, inexpensive activity.

6. Make Reading Time Special

I could lay on a couch and read ALL day long. I’ve been a bookworm for as long as I can remember. My boys don’t have quite the same stamina for reading as I do, but they do love story time, so we spend a lot of time reading books. Sometimes on days when I didn’t feel well early in pregnancy, I would invite the boys into Mommy’s bed for a special reading party. I would let each of them pick out a big pile of books and we would all snuggle under the covers for as long as their attention lasted (often 20-30 minutes). You can also make reading time special by making a tent/fort, making a bird’s nest with blankets and pillows on the floor, or whatever else you can think of.

Here are some of our favorite books, all of which have made many appearances during our special snuggle reading time:

• 10 Laugh-out-loud Funny Children’s Books
• Best Board Books for Toddlers
• My absolute favorite children’s picture books of all time
• 12 Awesome Alphabet Books to Start the School Year Right

7. Do Puzzles or Play Board Games

Anything you can do while sitting down is a plus, right? As much as I loathe Chutes and Ladders, I played it a lot this winter because it meant that I at least got to sit down and not jostle my sensitive stomach. You don’t have to play games you hate either. Some of our favorites are Tenzi, Trouble, and Alphabet Kaboom!

 8. Play with Water

Both of my boys love standing on a chair at the kitchen sink or on a stool in the bathroom and “washing” their toys. Give them a little soap, make sure the counters are clean of anything that could be damaged by spills, and let them play.

Alternatively, throw them in the tub for a play bath when you’re completely exhausted. On nights when my husband has to work late, I make sure to schedule in an extra long bath time. Sometimes we sing songs and play together, but sometimes I just let them do their own thing while I zone out. It’s a great way for me to get a break while the boys happily play in the tub for 20-30 minutes.

If the weather is good, give the kids paintbrushes and buckets of water and let them paint the driveway or back patio. Challenge them to make shapes, letters, or numbers. All of these activities have been really successful at keeping my busy boys busy for at least 20 minutes at a time.

9. Flashlights in the Dark

Raid your emergency supplies and give each of your children a flashlight (these little flashlights are perfect for kids!). Go into a dark room (the kids’ room with blackout curtains pulled is effective) and play with the flashlights. Here are some ideas:

• Play the classic flashlight tag
• Play “I spy” and shine your light on each object you’re guessing
• “Draw” shapes, letters, or numbers on the walls and try to guess what the other person drew.

10. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Novelty

When all else fails, try giving your kids something completely new and random to explore. A large cardboard box, a pile of tupperware, an empty cereal box, your old jewelry, a toy they haven’t seen in months…whenever something is new, it’s likely to keep their attention for at least a few minutes.

A little pep talk…

Good luck, mommas! You will survive the rough days and make it back to feeling human again…with the help of these ten ways to keep your kids busy (and even to interact with them meaningfully) without expending your non-existent energy.

Thankfully, I’m through the worst of the exhaustion and sickness of pregnancy, but momma still isn’t running a marathon any time soon. Hopefully you’ll find these activities as useful and enjoyable as we have.

How do you entertain kids when you’re exhausted? (Still moderately tired momma looking for more ideas…send help!)