Office and a play area for kids - ideas please

**GrahamEye** · 06-21-2017, 07:02 AM

Our office is currently going through a remodel and one area that is not changing is a small side area off of the waiting room that is the designated "children's room".
It has about three books, currently no toys (due to people either taking toys or kids abusing the heck out of the toy that we had to remove it), and a wall mounted TV that used to have a movie or tv playing on it but no longer (doc doesn't want to pay the extra fees each month for multiple Time Warner/Spectrum cable boxes).

This room needs some sort of improvement, not just aesthetically, but also functionally as an area for young children to play. Right now, as much as we can professionally ask to keep kids under control, young kids run back and forth from the waiting room to the front desk and into the optical area.
I suggested buying more toys that can stay in the area (and harder to walk off with) , and that was shot down because "it's a germ hazard and too much hassle to clean weekly".
Doc is now thinking of getting a Roku or something similar to stream tv to the kids room, but I have no experience with said devices.

What has your office done to help entertain children? What pro's and con's should I be aware of with ideas you currently use or have attempted in the past?

**becc971** · 06-21-2017, 02:21 PM

Get an amazon fire TV stick and just stream kids stuff all day on netflix ($8 per month) or prime. As long as you have WIFI.

Tell the parents to keep their kids under control and stop running around. (they love that

)

We have a bunch of books, puzzles and LEGOS. legos keep kids busy foreverrrrr. We don't clean the toys unless necessary. we go in the play room every night to straighten it up. I do wish it had like a little latched door to keep the heathens boxed in. Also, a toy kitchen or something would always be a good distraction for a bit.

**optical24/7** · 06-21-2017, 03:09 PM

Give them guns, knives and scissors to run around with....

I kid (maybe not...) Fortunately, we do virtually no pediatrics here, but my last place had a chalk board kids loved to draw on.

**mervinek** · 06-21-2017, 03:30 PM

We hardly see kids here, but my daughter's dentist has an ipad mounted on the wall and has candy crush on it. The kids love it! It has some kind of plastic mounting bracket around it so it is not removable and is plugged into power source on wall.

**mervinek** · 06-21-2017, 03:33 PM

[QUOTE=becc971;537526legos keep kids busy foreverrrrr. We don't clean the toys unless necessary.[/QUOTE]

Legos are easy to clean in the dishwasher if someone wanted to take them home. Put them in a netted laundry bag and run through santi cycle. Those kiddos are dirty. I hate to be a helicopter parent, but I'm the one that makes my kid use hand sanitzer after touching a toy at the dr's office.

**Jubilee** · 06-24-2017, 09:40 AM

We have some books, a few toys, but the thing that keeps their attention the most? A table we painted with Chalkboard paint, and a cup with chalk. Kids of all ages are drawn to it.