Dad Creates Board Game Bedsheets So Children Can Still Have Fun In Hospital

A hospital stay is traumatizing no matter how old you are. When you're sick, the last place you want to be is in a strange bed - even if you know, deep down, that it's the best place for you. This is especially the case for children who often have to be separated for their parents and forced into a sleepover with strangers when they're unwell.

So when Kevin Gatlin from North Carolina saw firsthand how difficult this could be when his son, also called Kevin, was hospitalized, he decided to do something about it and created bed sheets that double as board games.

Credit: Playtime Edventures

At this time, Kevin and his wife realized that aside from having to contend with whatever ailment that landed a child in the hospital, they also have to deal with boredom, so they began to think of ways of alleviating this.

In an interview with Scary Mommy, he said: "My wife used to utilize the bed with our son, they would play board games, they would do homework assignments, it was the biggest piece of furniture in the room."

Credit: Playtime Edventures

Two years on from this initial spark of creativity, the dad spoke to teachers to further refine the bedsheet idea which, by this point, had expanded into a range including slumber bags.

"We put together bedsheets and slumber bags that cover everything from geography, math, science, grammar, word find games, over-sized game boards… all on a three-piece set," he said. "It's an unfortunate situation that a child is in."

Credit: Playtime Edventures

The inventive dad continued: "It's great for the child life coordinator and the nurses and doctors - it gives them a tool that they can use before they just poke the kid."

Kevin pointed out that the sheets do more than just alleviate boredom in hospital, but they enable the child in question to continue with their education when, more often than not, they can't go straight back to school.

Credit: Playtime Edventures

Now, 10 hospitals are actively using the sheets and they are available for purchase online.

Kevin said:

"To a child, the bed is the most important piece of furniture in their life. It's not a place just for punishment or only to be used when they're sick or when it's time to go to sleep!

"We want our Playtime Bed Sheets to help create an environment where kids can continue to play, learn, sleep, and heal on their favorite piece of furniture!"