your child HEALTH
Tell her you’ll
stay with her
the whole time.
Prep Your Little Patient
If your child has to
go to the hospital,
what you do
(and don’t do)
beforehand can
make the experience
a lot less scary.
By Kathleen M. ReIlly
When 1-year old Ben Cleland
needed surgery to have ear
tubes inserted, he arrived at
the hospital seeming anxious. “I wasn’t sure
what he was allowed to take with him,” says
his mom, Kelly, of ann arbor, Michigan.
But when he had to go back the following
year to have one of the tubes repositioned,
a nurse suggested bringing his special
blanket from home. he held it tightly as he
went under the anesthesia, and the nurses
put it back in his arms before he woke up.
Whether your child needs an emergency appendectomy or a minor outpatient procedure, a visit to the hospital can
be frightening. after all, it looks, smells,
and sounds different from home, and
there’s lots of freaky-looking equipment. If
you’re prepared, however, it’ll be much less
stressful for everyone. “Most hospitals now
have a family-centered philosophy as well
as a child-life department, whose staff can
help you talk to your child about what he’ll
experience,” says MiChelle Passamaneck,
R.n., a pediatric nurse practitioner in
Denver. Of course, what you should do
and tell your child depends on his age.
We’ve gathered the best tips from experts
and parents for how to help make a hospital
stay as smooth as possible.
somos/veer.
