Tips for Parents to Prepare Children for Hospital Visits
From Child Life Specialists at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
in Celebration of National Child Life Month
PHILADELPHIA, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A child's trip to the
hospital doesn't always have to involve fear and tears. At least that's the
goal of the Child Life team at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
This team, consisting of Certified Child Life Specialists and Assistants,
Creative Arts and Music Therapists, Teachers, Multi-Media Specialists and
others, use toys, games, videos, websites, art projects, music and other
techniques to educate young patients and ease them through scary or painful
procedures. The diverse team, full of experts in child development,
therapeutic recreation, art and music therapy and education, works with
patients throughout their entire health care experience at Children's
Hospital, during both inpatients stays and outpatient visits.
The team emphasizes, when a child is prepared, experiences are much
less scary. Therefore a specialist first explains to children, in child
friendly language, what's going to happen to them, this way things will go
much more smoothly.
One of the many jobs of a Child Life Specialist is to prepare children
and their families for their experiences at the hospital. The goal is to
make children feel more a part of a procedure and less like a victim of the
event. However, the most important part of their job is to make sure kids
can still be kids, even though they are in the hospital- this can best be
done through PLAY!
As many parents already know, play is the way children learn about the
world around them and show us how they understand their world. Children
often play house, play school and sometimes even play doctor. At Children's
Hospital patients are engaged in activities to become more comfortable with
their medical procedures. Play is a way for children to learn about the
hospital or doctors office and see what will happen during their visit.
Through play, children express their worries, concerns and misconceptions.
Some of these techniques can be done at home prior to a child's visit
to the hospital or doctor's office. Possibilities include playing with
medical equipment, playing doctor with stuffed animals or dolls, using a
doctor kit to learn about different tools doctors and nurses will use,
reading stories about healthcare experiences, or creating artwork with
medical supplies. In celebration of national Child Life Month the team put
together some tips for parents to prepare children for healthcare
experiences ...
Tips for parents from the Child Life Team at the Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia:
1. Find out everything you can about your child's test or procedure -
Have a doctor or nurse explain it to you or use a brochure. This way you
have the most accurate information to share with your child.
2. Be sure to use words that you think your child can easily
understand. - Example: Kids hear IV and think Ivy like Poison Ivy - this
simple confusion can cause a great deal of unnecessary distress.
3. Teach your child about what will happen in the hospital or doctor's
office and the order in which it will occur. A child needs to know what
will happen first, next and at the end of the procedure.
4. Practice a procedure with your child using a doll or stuffed animal.
Work as a team with your child to figure out ways to cope with the test or
procedure. Explain to your child what will occur. Then you and your child
decide what will help make the test go as smoothly as possible.
5. Allow your child to express feelings about a test or medical
procedure. During medical play, let your child "take the lead". The best
role for parents may be as the "helper" for your child.
6. Observe the feelings your child expresses. Children can exaggerate
or show very aggressive feelings while playing with medical equipment, it
is always helpful to end play with a reality comment.
7. Play "dress-up" using surgery hats and masks, scrubs, lab coats and
rubber gloves
8. Read books about going to the doctor, the dentist or the hospital.
9. Create art projects with medical supplies or pictures of medical
supplies
10. Last but not least, visit kidshealthgalaxy.com, a website designed
by Children's Hospital's child life and web teams, specifically for
children to prepare for their visit to the hospital.
About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric
hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional
patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare
professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's
Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children
worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the
country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In
addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have
brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children
and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.
SOURCE The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
 back to top
Related links:
http://kidshealthgalaxy.com/
http://www.chop.edu
CONTACT:
Ashley Moore of The Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, +1-267-426-6071, moorea1@email.chop.edu
|
