By Carissa Hodgson, LCSW, OSW-C

Director of Programs and Community Outreach

Bright Spot Network

“All I can do is lie on the couch–how the heck can I play with my kids when I feel so terrible from treatment?! Where is the guidebook for that?” 

Some version of this plea has been spun out to me from almost every parent cancer patient I’ve supported in the last 14 years. There’s always the SCREEN–either a technological oasis or source of deep guilt….or some combination of both. But parents are hungry for simple, creative ideas to engage with their kids and feel like a parent, even while feeling at their worst.

Enter…Horizontal Parenting by Michelle Woo and Dasha Tolstikova. Brought to me by a Bright Spot Parent several weeks ago as the best new find! I immediately ordered myself a copy and laughed my way through 50 outlandishly simple, but incredibly creative, ideas to engage with your kids when all you can do is lie down. It’s my favorite new resource for every parent diagnosed with cancer. 

As someone who has always been a sucker for arcades, I was drawn to The Claw (p. 100), which has your kid lying on top of you on the couch with a pair of tongs, directing you to help shift them right/left/forward/backward to nab one of their favorite toys spread out on the floor beneath them. Annoyed that your kid has interrupted your latest true crime podcast episode? Play Crime Scene (p. 16) by giving them a roll of painter’s tape and task them with outlining your body on the floor. Feel like you need some educational time? Play Will it Roll (p. 96). Create a ramp out of your body by elevating yourself on a stack of pillows. First your kid gets a scavenger hunt: go find random items around the house! And then have them guess which items will roll down your back. You can always resort to the classic: Nap Game (p. 108) where you see who can be quiet the longest. Whoever naps wins! 

I highly recommend getting a copy of this book from a local library or bookstore–50 ridiculously fun and unique ideas to parent from the couch.