For Patients and Families

You may wish to choose what will work best for you and your family from the ideas below.

• Continue to follow the rules you use at home. What is not allowed at home, should not be allowed in the hospital.
• Try to follow your child's usual daily schedules and routines. For example, if your child naps at home, plan a naptime in the hospital. If your child is an infant, continue to take an active role in his or her care, such as by holding and rocking him or her.
• Make time for yourself. Take time for coffee breaks and to eat meals.

• Talk with your child every day to find out what he or she understands about care and treatment. This will help clear up any questions or confusion about the hospital.
• Encourage your child to ask the nurses and doctors questions. If your child is not able to do this, write down the questions and ask them yourself in your child's presence.

• Create "procedure-free zones" where medical procedures will not occur. For example, the playroom is a procedure free zone.
• Give your child a choice whenever possible. Gor example, ask, "Do you want to take your medicine with juice or water?"
• Plan something to look forward to during the day, for example, time in the playroom, watching a favorite video or a trip to the gift cart.
• Make your child's space personal. Hang up family photos or your child's drawings. You may want to bring your child's favorite pillow, blanket or toy to the hospital.
• Encourage your child to express his or her feelings. Your child may do this through playing, talking or drawing.
• Ask your nurse if it is possible to explore other areas of the hospital, for example the lobby, garden, café or chapel.
• Ask the child life specialist to help you create a calendar to keep track of days and events in the hospital.
• Plan time for friends and family to visit your child.

• A child life specialist helps children find ways to express themselves through play and activities that are best for their age group. These specialists may use medical play and playroom activities with individuals or groups.
• A social worker is a health care professional who meets with families to help them better cope with illness and hospitalization.
• A resource specialist helps families find resources in the hospital and the community, such as short-term housing and transportation to the hospital.
• A psychiatrist or psychologist is a doctor who works with parents and children to help them learn ways to manage and cope with feelings about being in the hospital.