Here are a few ideas for how to cope best with the hospitalization of your young child

• Many hospitals in the US employ play therapists called Child Life Specialists. Before you go, call your hospital and see if they have a Child Life Specialist. If they do, they will be the best source of support for you and your child during the hospital stay. They will offer your child age-appropriate play activities. They may even have a play room which your child can use. They usually have toys available for your child to take to their room as well as DVD's, music and books. More importantly they will prepare your child for any medical procedures that your child will have during their hospital stay. The Child Life Specialist knows exactly how to play with your child so that they will become familiar with the medical equipment /procedure and they will work with you and your child to develop coping strategies to make the procedures easier to deal with.
• If your child's hospital doesn't employ a Child Life Specialist then you can easily become the play therapist and advocate for them. Here is how you can do this. Find out what procedure they are having by calling the hospital beforehand and find out exactly what and how they will perform the procedure.  For example, if they're having an IV put in, the nurses will first clean the area with a sterile pad, put a tight band on the arm and feel for the vein. Then they will put a little needle into the vein and tape it up. Explain step by step to your child what will happen. Take a favorite toy into the procedure room with them and advocate to the medical staff that your child will do best if you cuddle them.
• Some great ways for children to cope during the procedure is to be close to mum or dad. Blow away the pain by pretending to blow up a big balloon. Counting can work well. You can say let's count to ten. Sing them a song. Bring a little toy that does something special or interesting that they can focus on during the procedure to distract them. Distraction when it works is great. Some children will want to watch and some children will not. Ask your child beforehand what they think they might like to do and see if they can choose something to do before they go to hospital. Practice blowing up pretend balloons or the counting before you go to the hospital so that they can feel comfortable and confident using their chosen coping strategy.
• If you can - stay calm during any procedures with your child and always try and accompany them when they're having something medical done. You are your child's source of greatest comfort and they will do better when you are close.
• Make sure that you bring along favorite games, toys and activities from home. These familiar things will help your child over come the boredom of hospital rooms.
• Wrap up a special toy for each day your child is in hospital and have them open one a day. They will love this.
• Put up a little chart with how many days they will be in hospital and mark off each day as it passes. This helps your child understand when they will be going home.  It's really hard for young children to understand the passing of time.
• Ask the nurses if you can take home some of the basic hospital things such as gloves, masks, tongue depressors and plasters. Your child could then, if they wish to, role play their hospital visit with you when they get home. This can help the young child overcome any fears or anxieties that they may have as a result of the hospital stay.
• Always reassure your child that they haven't been bad or done something wrong that resulted in the hospital visit. Make sure you explain that they are sick and need to be in the hospital to get well. Young children can misinterpret hospital experiences as a form of punishment. You may have to explain this several times or every day so that they really understand it.

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