Sunday, September 2, 2012

Helping Kids Deal With a Hospital

Admitting your child to a hospital could be quiet overwhelming for both you as well as the child. To ease the stress, it is important to take care of certain procedures ahead of time as mentioned below -
1. Get your child familiar with the hospital ambiance - If the know the admission dates upfront, you should spend time to take your child to the hospital few days in advance for a short visit. The goal of the visit is to make him gel with the hospital staff in the pediatric unit. If the exact room/ward for his treatment is decided, you should definitely take him there too.
2. Bring your child's favorites to the hospital room - This should include his or her favorite board games, personal photos, family photos, wall posters, stuff toys. You might have to prioritize as the hospital staff may now allow you to bring in everything.
3. Research books on how to make your child's stay pleasant in the hospital - These should be available in any general books store in the locality, as well as in the shops inside hospital.
4. Inquire about the existing facilities in the hospital for children's stay - Hospitals would usually have certain activities specifically for young children so that they feel at home. You should inquire about such facilities with the hospital staff.
5. Inquire about the possibility of you sleeping overnight in your child's room - Many hospitals have this provision, especially for kids, and may allow their parents to sleep in their room. You should check this with the staff in the hospital and plan your stay accordingly.
6. Make your child participate in various discussions - You should keep him involved in all decision-making discussions appropriate for his age. You should also encourage him to ask questions about the status of his/her health or about the feedback on the recovery from the hospital doctors. This awareness would make him/her feel at rest.
7. Invite your child's friends to visit the hospital - Meeting friends will make you child feel good and will help him/her in the recovery process. In addition to your child's friends, you can also approach your family friends and relatives to visit the hospital.
Most of the patients, especially children, are apprehensive of treatment in a hospital. With proper planning and subsequent efforts, you can make your child shrug off this apprehension and make his/her stay as less stressful as possible.

No comments:

Post a Comment