A visit to Hospital out-patients with a child is an experience that many parents dread.
It conjures up images of bustling waiting areas, children who are hot, thirsty, hungry, bored and tired wrestling in and out of their parent's arms, parent's are trying to mangage, possibly with siblings in tow.
Add in the anxiety of the child going for a procedure - plus the anxiety of the parent who is about to deal with the anxiety of the child going for a procedure - and hey presto - you have a life experience waiting to unfold!
How can you make life a little easier for you and your child?
1. Prepare. A little preparation goes a long way. Talk about what is going to happen, the Hospital environment, and ask your child how they feel (Pain scales in our app are good for this, and can be used to determine how your child feels about their Hospital visit). You can print Hospital colouring pages from our website: http://www.hometrain.ie/gth/
2. Decide a coping strategy beforehand:
After preparing your child, decide with them how they can learn to cope with their procedure - ideas and games are all in the Going to Hospital iPhone app, and help children learn how to stay calm, take medicine, cope with discomfort and painful experiences. The Going to Hospital app includes a relaxation lesson for deep breathing (this has been tried and tested!) and a guided imagery story called 'The Magic Flower' - both of these you can listen to straight from the Going to Hospital app, and they really work!
3. Distraction - Do it! - Learn about distraction in the Parent Info section of the app. Once you have your preparation and coping plan, use the games on the app (or your own games) to distract and entertain your child during their wait and during a procedure. The game 'Counting Sheep' is a great way to count and distract - you can read an account of using this below.
Read a parent's account of using the iPhone app 'Going to Hospital':
"I used the Hospital app with my daughter today, she was to have a blood test and an X-Ray. We looked at the app last night and I read the information on how to prepare her. We talked about going which is something I wouldn't normally do in case she got upset and refused to go! It went well and she looked at her age-group section which she could read and relate to.
We decided to play the quizzes in the waiting area and the counting sheep during her blood test.
When we got to the hospital, there was not too long to wait, she listened to the relaxation story. We talked about the story together afterwards - what her animal was and which food she gave him. My daughter especially liked the flower in the story.
X-Ray went well and then to the blood test area! ...I could see my daughter was worried and we looked at the app again, making sure we had the sheep game ready. We estimated if she counted 20 sheep, then the blood test would be over.
My daughter was anxious, and she sat on my knee. I held her left arm (the one having the blood test) with my left hand and my phone in my right hand. She didn't enjoy the blood test, but she was able to sit tight and count the sheep - we counted 12 and the test was finished!
As we walked back to the car she said - 'That hurt, but I was SO much better than last time, I didn't even cry!'
We enjoyed using the app and I think that preparing her helped."
A Parent.
'Going to Hospital' is available on iTunes, you can view it and download here: http://www.hometrain.ie/gth/
Add in the anxiety of the child going for a procedure - plus the anxiety of the parent who is about to deal with the anxiety of the child going for a procedure - and hey presto - you have a life experience waiting to unfold!
How can you make life a little easier for you and your child?
1. Prepare. A little preparation goes a long way. Talk about what is going to happen, the Hospital environment, and ask your child how they feel (Pain scales in our app are good for this, and can be used to determine how your child feels about their Hospital visit). You can print Hospital colouring pages from our website: http://www.hometrain.ie/gth/
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| play hospital at home |
2. Decide a coping strategy beforehand:
After preparing your child, decide with them how they can learn to cope with their procedure - ideas and games are all in the Going to Hospital iPhone app, and help children learn how to stay calm, take medicine, cope with discomfort and painful experiences. The Going to Hospital app includes a relaxation lesson for deep breathing (this has been tried and tested!) and a guided imagery story called 'The Magic Flower' - both of these you can listen to straight from the Going to Hospital app, and they really work!
3. Distraction - Do it! - Learn about distraction in the Parent Info section of the app. Once you have your preparation and coping plan, use the games on the app (or your own games) to distract and entertain your child during their wait and during a procedure. The game 'Counting Sheep' is a great way to count and distract - you can read an account of using this below.
Read a parent's account of using the iPhone app 'Going to Hospital':
 |
| Going to Hospital App |
We decided to play the quizzes in the waiting area and the counting sheep during her blood test.
When we got to the hospital, there was not too long to wait, she listened to the relaxation story. We talked about the story together afterwards - what her animal was and which food she gave him. My daughter especially liked the flower in the story.
X-Ray went well and then to the blood test area! ...I could see my daughter was worried and we looked at the app again, making sure we had the sheep game ready. We estimated if she counted 20 sheep, then the blood test would be over.
My daughter was anxious, and she sat on my knee. I held her left arm (the one having the blood test) with my left hand and my phone in my right hand. She didn't enjoy the blood test, but she was able to sit tight and count the sheep - we counted 12 and the test was finished!
As we walked back to the car she said - 'That hurt, but I was SO much better than last time, I didn't even cry!'
 |
| Practising the Counting Sheep game before a blood test |
A Parent.
'Going to Hospital' is available on iTunes, you can view it and download here: http://www.hometrain.ie/gth/
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