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Duck Activities

Medical play and strategies with My Special Aflac Duck®, for activities at home or in the hospital.

These activities build upon the tips and tricks included with Getting Started with My Special Aflac Duck.

Facilitation CardsMeditation and BreathingCommunicating FeelingsMedical PlaySense of ControlEntertainmentDownload Facilitation Cards for CancerDownload Facilitation Cards for Sickle CellDownload the Do-It-Yourself Guide

Facilitation Cards

These are our most popular and widely used activities based on feedback from families and medical professionals.

For a complete list, download Facilitation Cards for Cancer or Facilitation Cards for Sickle Cell.

Meditation and Breathing

Guided Imagery

  1. Use the Soundscapes® Spaceship to help the child visualize a place that makes them feel happy.
  2. Ask the child about what they see, smell and taste in their happy place.
  3. Ask the child more about their happy place:
    1. “Have you ever visited a place like this before?”
    2. “What do you think your duck likes to do here?”

Diaphragmatic Breathing

  1. Ask the child to choose the Calm Card and tap it to the duck’s chest.
  2. Practice deep breathing by asking children to take deep breaths with the duck, inhaling through their nose and exhaling through their mouth.
  3. When finished, ask the child how they think taking deep breaths can help when they are in pain.

Communicating Feelings

Understanding Coping Methods

  1. Spread the Feeling Cards.
  2. Ask the child to tap a card to the duck’s chest.
  3. Ask: “Why does the duck feel this way?”
  4. Discuss ways to cope:
    1. “What helps you when you feel angry, sad, afraid, etc.”
    2. “What helps you feel better when you have to do hard things (getting port accessed, staying at the hospital, etc.)?”

Role-Playing Feelings

  1. This is helpful for children who have trouble with verbal expression. Ask them to show you how the duck feels about the following situations by tapping a Feeling Card to the duck’s chest:
    1. Going to the hospital
    2. Getting medicine
    3. Answering questions from doctors and nurses about how their body is feeling
    4. Playing in the hospital
  2. Change the duck’s feelings with a new card or press the tail button to return to a neutral mode.

Mirroring Feelings

  1. If the child experiences discomfort, have them tap the matching Feeling Card to the duck.
  2. Discuss strategies that can help the child feel comfortable and safe.
  3. Invite the child to comfort the duck by stroking the cheeks, head and back.
  4. (Optional) Press the tail button to set the duck to a neutral mode. Point out how the child helped the duck cope.

Medical Play

Prepare for an IV

  1. Say: “We’re going to give the duck its IV.” Show an alcohol pad, IV catheter, and included Port-a-cath Accessory.
  2. Discuss each step (cleaning skin, tourniquet, place IV, cover with wrap) and what might help the duck cope.
  3. Ask: “Can you give the duck an IV?”
  4. Ask the child to show how the duck feels by tapping a Feeling Card to the duck’s chest.

Note: The sickle cell kit includes a clip that can hold the Port-a-cath Accessory to the duck’s wing.

Prepare for Port Access

  1. Say: “We’re going to access the duck’s port.” Show an antiseptic sponge, IV dressing, and included Port-a-cath Accessory.‍
  2. Discuss each step (cleaning, flushing, attaching catheter, covering with wrap) and what might help the duck cope.
  3. Ask: “Can you access the duck’s port?”
  4. Ask the child to show how the duck feels by tapping a Feeling Card to the duck’s chest.

IV Medication with the App

  1. Use the Port-a-cath Accessory to simulate an IV. Say: “The duck is about to get an IV medication.”
  2. Open the app. Tap the hospital. Now tap the bed.
  3. Follow the hand to (1) connect the syringe and medical line, (2) flush the line, and (3) attach IV fluids or medication (child’s choice).
  4. Ask the child to show how the duck feels with a Feeling Card.

Note: The sickle cell kit includes a clip that can hold the Port-a-cath Accessory to the duck’s wing.

Medical Play

  1. Lay out the Medical Play Accessories (real and/or pretend from My Special Aflac Duck).
  2. Let the child take the lead and use the Medical Play Accessories in pretend play.
  3. Name the tools/equipment that the child uses:
    1. “It looks like you are using the stethoscope to listen to the duck’s heart.”
  4. Identify and correct misconceptions that the child expresses.

Sense of Control

Bath Time and Hygiene

  1. Sometimes a bath helps children relax their body and feel better, they may enjoy washing the duck too. Open the app and connect to the duck via Bluetooth®. Tap the tub.
  2. Scrub the screen or the duck!
  3. Virtually rinse the duck. The duck reacts if the water is too hot or cold. Use the blow-dryer until the duck sings!

Note: For children with sickle cell, discuss the importance of finding things that make their body feel better when they are in pain or a pain crisis.

Nutrition and Hydration

  1. Tap the food truck in the app.
  2. Time to keep the duck hydrated!
Ask: “Can you find the water? Pick the water the duck should drink.”
  3. Tap the bell. Tap the screen to feed the duck.
  4. Discuss:
    1. Importance of staying hydrated and drinking lots of water.
    2. Importance of good nutrition.
    3. Ask: “What are your favorite things to drink and snacks to eat?”

Bundle Up

  1. It’s important to remind children to bundle up to avoid a pain crisis due to a sudden change in temperature. Ask: “How do you keep yourself warm when it is cold outside?”
  2. Use the Doodle Jacket and Water Marker to let children express themselves by drawing on the jacket and putting it on the duck to bundle up.
  3. Discuss the importance of staying warm and ways they can do that.:

Note: This is included in the Facilitation Cards for sickle cell.

Entertainment

Need a Laugh?

  1. Flip the duck over and listen to the response.
  2. Press the tail button 7 times in rapid sequence. The duck will act goofy and speak fast.
  3. Tickle under the duck’s wings!

Night Mode Play

  1. The duck will enter night mode in dark rooms.
  2. Night mode means the duck’s interactivity is muted a bit. This is helpful for children who feel sleepy but want to play with the duck.

Duck Singalong

  1. Tap the Silly Card to the duck’s chest.
  2. Encourage the child to talk or sing into the duck’s microphone (located just below the chest lights).
  3. The duck will sing or beatbox!

Downloadable Resources

Facilitation Cards for Cancer

Tips and tricks developed with child life specialists and families of children with cancer.

English Download

Facilitation Cards for Sickle Cell

Tips and tricks developed with child life specialists and families of children with sickle cell.

English Download

Do-It-Yourself Accessory Guide

A step-by-step guide for how to make your own medical accessories for My Special Aflac Duck. This includes an NG tube, tracheostomy, PICC line and more.

English Download
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Duck Activities