Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Support Group
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) describes a sense of exhaustion and post-exertion malaise, even when you have gotten enough rest and sleep. The disease is characterized by six months of incapacitating fatigue experienced as profound exhaustion and extremely poor stamina, and problems with concentration and short-term memory. The cause is unknown, but it is a...
is hard work with CFS. I feel so bad for my kids, especially my son who is at home with my. My daughter is at school. Hard to get the energy sometimes to do things with my son.
Hope you have family to help.
Remember that kids love time with you, just sitting watching a movie or reading books or coloring. I was scared when my grandsons came along that they'd resent that I can't run around with them but I'm the peaceful Gramma and their other one is the sports Meme. Our situation teaches kids to be kind, respectful and empathetic. Not a bad thing all in all.
Yes! Take rest breaks even when you feel ok. You must learn to pace yourself better, it really makes a huge difference overall!
I used to be the kind of mom that took my kids to the park and library programs. I used to play games with my kids, cook with them, do art with them, teach them to do chores. I used to limit t.v. and computer time.
Now my kids are watching t.v. or playing computer all the time. I'm not up to making them do otherwise. Besides, I'm almost always on computer and watching t.v. at the same time. I'd have to chase them from the room to not let them watch. Because most of the time that is about all I'm up to. Kids resist their screen time being limited big time. I had to keep them busy before or they'd torture me with whining about it. I'm not up to that anymore.
If your son isn't stuck on the screen time like mine there are options. Kids often want to play nearby. So if you're layed up on the couch, he might be happy just to play with toys on the rug nearby. And if you're up to it, you can ask him to bring you a book to read.
I used to seek out lots of things to keep my kids busy. Some of them you could easily do with your 4 year old because they take little energy. Maybe you could ask for these types of things for Christmas from people.
Books where you search for something on the page are really neat for this age, but he might get more out of it with your help. Sure there's Where's Waldo and I Spy. My mom found some books with nature scenes. There were animals camaflouged on the pages. Some I had trouble finding, some were obvious to the kids. So they are books kids can really grow with. We did these a lot when they were preschoolers. There were scenes from the jungle, oceans, etc. They got really good at naming animals and fish that I didn't know the names of before we got the books.
Felt books are wonderful. Kids can play with the book by moving felt pieces around on the pages. They're pretty quiet which can be nice if you need a nap. Sticker books can be good too if you trust your kid to keep them in the book.
Colorforms are still one of my favorites but I never did find any for my kids. Maybe they went out of business.
My brother and I thought book and record sets were wonderful and we spent hours with them. You can still find book and cd sets.
I'm still a big fan of building toys. Blocks, legos, bristle blocks, erector sets, tinker toys, lincoln logs, construx, etc. Even if you can't participate, you can ask him to build you something.
A preschool teacher once told me that playdough is the best thing to destress preschoolers. That encouraged me to play playdough with my kids.
I'm sure most of this is not new to you, but maybe it got you thinking about some of it.
Oh, one more thing. I had a friend once who was amazed that my kids would play by themselves if they were in the same room as me. Hers wouldn't. They'd demand her attention, would pester her until she played too. I thought about what the difference might be. I sometimes had to do things. My kids were left to their own devices while I cooked or did laundry. I didn't have a t.v. so they played.
That was my first 2 kids, and before cfs. If you can't always play with your son, he'll learn to play by himself. And if he won't, and watches t.v. all the time, well you're not alone. I have that problem with my youngest now.
While he rejects the idea of playing toys during the day he will play with them when I send him to bed. Sneaky kid! As he gets older I don't give him a later bedtime. This way I can let him play if he's quiet. I guess I'm a little sneaky too.