Resources for children developmentally 6-12 yrs
undergoing medical care/ healthcare experiences
Read.
Practicing mindfulness can help kids learn to focus, manage stress, regulate emotions, and develop a positive outlook on the world.
Book of the Month (ages 5-8): Wonderous You: Empowering Poems for Magical Kids, by Kayla Ford
Book of the Month (ages 8-12): The Mindfulness Journal for Kids: Guided Writing Prompts to Help You Stay Calm, Positive, and Present, by Hannah Sherman
Watch.
Giving children something to focus on to distract them can be an especially effective way to minimize anxiety. Child Life Specialists use distraction as a positive coping tool to identify age-appropriate, individualized distraction plan to help create a positive experience for your child during a medical procedure.
App of the Month: Stop Motion Studio is an amazing app to create terrific stop-action movies with a whole host of unique features. Like the frame-by-frame editor, the never get lost timeline, and the cool sound editor. Stop Motion Studio it's simple to use, it's deceptively powerful, and it's tremendous fun. Available for iPhone, iPad, and macOS as well as Android and Windows.
Do.
Bring comfort from home: familiar music, blankets, books and/or photos help encourage a sense of familiarity and routine.
Encourage your child to solve problems and think of possible actions or consequences beforehand.
Talk to your child about school, friends, and things they look forward to in the future.
Provide your child with activities to distract such as the Hospital School Program and Child Life programming to prevent social isolation.
Give your child positive reinforcement
Help your child set achievable goals, and learn to take pride in themselves.
Prepare your child for upcoming medical procedures in advance, and help them understand their illness in relation to the internal workings of their bodies.
Let your child explore medical equipment – participate in medical play interventions.
Give clear and concrete explanations using words they understand. Be honest about medical information and clear up any misconceptions right away.
Talk about the parts of the body and what they do.
Talk about ways to cope during treatment.
Let them explore medical objects and their uses. i.e. Teddy Bear Clinic.
Medical Art Play i.e blood soup, art with tongue depressors
Screen-time for children 6 - 12 years old.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children ages 6 -12, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity, and other behaviors essential to health.
Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.
Create a Family Media Plan.
Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.
I Can. You Can.
Developmental Support for children ages 6 - 12 years old (printable)
