Toys for Kids in Waiting Rooms

Playboards are a good idea for kids from 3 years up to about 7. Kids love "sticker" books and these are very similar to sticker books except they can be reused again and again.

Playboards let your child have some pretend play time without taking up any room or needing to carry lots of toys. They are also a quiet toy that can be played with in different ways to keep your child entertained while they wait. 

Play boards come in both felt and magnetic styles. Felt boards can be great for kids who are sick in hospital. But the magnetic boards are better for a waiting room. This is because the magnetic pieces are harder to lose in a waiting room than the lighter felt pieces. 

Pictured: Farm Playboard

There are some great classic toys that work well for children who need to wait quietly. 

Kaleidoscopes are a fun toy that can be popped into a bag. They're especially good for kids 3 to 6 years of age who love watching the changing colors and patterns. 

Etch A Sketches are another classic toy that are  still popular with kids. (The pocket size version is best for carrying with you to use in waiting rooms.) But remember an Etch A Sketch needs good hand eye coordination to create drawings on it. So even though it's recommended from or ages 3 or 4 and up some younger children might find an Etch A Sketch difficult to use. This will frustrate them and will not help you keep your child happy, busy and quiet in a waiting room. 

The Doodle Pro is a good option for all ages. It doesn't need the coordination of an Etch A Sketch and can be used for drawing anything. So it's suited to preschoolers and older kids. The travel version is handy and easy to take along with you too. 

Pictured: One of the many colorful patterns inside the kaleidoscope. You can find kaleidoscopes at Amazon.

Puzzles are another good way to keep kids concentrating on a game. This makes the waiting time feel shorter and distracts them from the appointment they are waiting for. 

There are lots of puzzles available. But it's best to buy puzzles that don't have loose pieces that can be lost. Sliding puzzles are a good type of puzzle that are small to carry and safe from having pieces lost. Kids also like sliding puzzles because of the sliding pieces. These feel more of a novelty than ordinary jigsaw puzzles. Sliding puzzles are usually fairly small and made of light plastic so they are easy to carry around too. 

The Mummy Mystery and Chicken Shuffle shown here are for children 6 years and up. The Rush Hour Jr. puzzle is for kids 6 to 8 years old but there's a version for older children too. 

If you are a health professional looking for ideas for your waiting room these puzzles are also a good idea because they can be easily cleaned for waiting room hygiene. They will also help to keep older children happy - avoiding the common problem of waiting rooms only have toys for the youngest children.

Pictured: Mummy Mystery Puzzle available from Amazon.

If you are a health professional buying toys for your waiting room don't make the mistake most professionals make. Don't just have toys for toddlers. Preschool and school aged kids get bored too. It's a nice touch to have toys available for children at least up to 8 or 9 years of age. It makes your waiting room far more welcoming for them. It also shows you care about the children in your waiting room and aren't just throwing in a few token toys to keep the toddlers busy.