Say hello to the bedside/playroom intervention that not only stays within a child life team’s budget, but doesn’t require a budget at all!

Get your patients dancing with a Styrofoam cup guitar! This intervention not only puts to use those nameless, un-sharpened pencils laying around the playroom, but it will also wow the families you work with enough for them to demand that your hospital hires more child life specialists immediately!

Materials Needed:

• Un-sharpened pencil
• Paperclip
• Rubber band
•  Styrofoam cup
• Tape

Directions:

1. Straighten out your paperclip so that it looks like a “J” (click here for visual)
2. Wrap paperclip around bottom of the pencil so that the tip of your “J” sticks out just enough to loop the rubber band through (click here for visual)
3. Tie rubber band to the loop in the paperclip (click here for visual)
4. Tape the top of the pencil to the side of the cup. Use extra tape if you have a kiddo that wants to be a heavy metal rock star (see above image for visual)
5. Poke a hole in the top of a cup and string the rubber band through.
6. Turn the cup upside down and tie a knot on your rubber band bit so it doesn’t pull back up through the hole. Tape in place.
7. Hold steady and start playing!

Additional ideas: Start a marching band on your unit!

Do you have kiddos sharing a hospital room? Let them play battle of the bands!

What about bored parents that are eying your intervention while wishing they had their own? Get them involved as an opportunity to bond with their kiddos.

Have ideas? Let us know: LSQuarterly@gmail.com or subscribe to our magazine to get hands on ideas. “Child Life is here. GET EXCITED!”