8 Tips To Keep Kids Calm And Comfortable In The Hospital

Taking your little one to the hospital is never a fun experience. Whether you’re a visitor or a patient, hospitals bring about a level of stress all their own. Children getting sick or visiting sick loved ones just adds another layer of sadness and fear to any medical complex. But no matter how much we don’t like it, trips to the hospital are pretty much unavoidable. (I’m pretty sure that’s the whole point of emergency health care, you don’t get to choose it.)

Through a rather unfortunate year, my family has spent more time in the hospital than anyone would care to. With health scares and surgeries, we’ve had more than a couple days to hang around in a waiting room and cuddle up in the hospital beds. Let me tell you, they are not made for a family of three.

Along our journey, I’ve learned some very important lessons. Like, no matter how annoyed you get with your overnight nurses, they still have to come up and wake you up every three hours. It’s not their fault, it’s just part of their job. I’ve learned that it’s totally possible to sleep in a rocking chair, as long as you have some place to prop your feet. And I now know that for children, hospitals are as scary as you make them.

So for those of you lucky enough to not have first-hand knowledge of children and their hospital habits, I’ve put together a few pointers. Whether they have to spend a couple hours visiting a new baby, checking in on an injured relative, or Heaven forbid getting treatment themselves, here’s some tips to ease the tension and calm your little one.

[ITPGallery]