| Baby sickness - is always a hard trial | | | | affirmation: "Hospital - pain, fear, |
| for family, and if the matter concerns | | | | danger". Replace it by "Hospital - help, |
| baby's hospitalization, then you can | | | | relieve, recovery". You confidence and |
| become panic-stricken only at the | | | | peace of mind will be passed to your |
| thought of the fact that a baby will be | | | | daughter and son. Talk to your child |
| estranged from his family, painful | | | | about coming hospitalization |
| procedures expect him, and strangers | | | | softly-softly. You can explain to |
| will surround him. | | | | schoolchild, that sickness is not a |
| Because of hospitalization, a baby can | | | | catastrophe, but a peculiar exam for |
| get the whole complex of serious | | | | courage and firmness. Tell your child |
| psychological problems, caused by | | | | that you will be thinking of him |
| sickness, isolation from home and | | | | constantly and you're always ready to |
| conditions of hospital. Even adult | | | | help him. Think and discuss ways of your |
| person experiences stress, when he needs | | | | contacts. |
| to apply to a doctor and moreover, while | | | | During separation avoid touching scenes, |
| necessity of long staying in hospital. | | | | restrain excessive emotions. Try to |
| Needless to say about baby's stress! | | | | behave the way, so that a baby would |
| Strange atmosphere, strange people, new, | | | | treat hospital not as punishment, but as |
| constantly renewed children collective, | | | | a place, where he will be helped to |
| forced separation from parents, fear of | | | | recover sooner and return to usual life. |
| medical procedures - all this is quite | | | | Form positive attitude, both to |
| enough for psychological discomfort. And | | | | improvement of health and doctors' work. |
| all these factors accompany symptoms of | | | | Explain your child an objective |
| disease. | | | | necessity of medical assistance. |
| However, you shouldn't dramatize | | | | Don't persuade him that he is guilty of |
| situation. Of course, disease and | | | | his sickness, trauma etc. himself. By |
| necessity of hospitalization - are | | | | doing this, you will increase sense of |
| traumatizing factors. But for majority | | | | guilt and fear, which can cause |
| of children staying at hospital can | | | | undesirable psychological complications. |
| become an important stage in formation | | | | Of course, there're situations, when it |
| of personality, bring lots of new | | | | is important to discuss wrong behavior |
| impressions and knowledge, and give | | | | of a child, which caused disease. But |
| possibility to try themselves in | | | | it is also very important that a result |
| difficult life circumstances. This | | | | of your conversation would be not a |
| experience will be useful in further | | | | sense of guilt, but understanding of |
| life of a child. | | | | cause and effect connection between |
| Processes of adaptation are individual | | | | wring behavior and disease. |
| for each child. This depends on many | | | | Discuss schedule of visiting a child |
| reasons: whether he had diseases | | | | with relatives for sure, to avoid |
| earlier, stage of disease, is he staying | | | | situations, when there're several visits |
| at hospital for the first time or not, | | | | per one day and no visits at all other |
| baby's age, whether he was separated | | | | day. This is very important, as excess |
| from his family before etc. Often | | | | of visitors can lead to emotional |
| everything passes quite smoothly, due to | | | | overloads of a sick baby, and their |
| presence of inner reserves of a baby and | | | | absence - to increase of longing for |
| correct behavior of parents. | | | | home and relatives. |
| It's quite normal, if period of | | | | Try not to hung up on topic of disease |
| adaptation at hospital lasts during 3-5 | | | | and treatment. Life goes on. Ask your |
| days. There're no reasons for anxiety, | | | | child about his new friends, news, what |
| if a baby is rather careless during | | | | he does in spare time. Keep all your |
| first days of hospitalization, asks to | | | | doubts concerning effectiveness of |
| take him home, gets into contact with | | | | treatment inside of you. Don't overload |
| coevals not at once. Excess care and | | | | patient with your doubts and fears. As |
| parental inclination for dramatizing | | | | medicine, which you doubt, will not |
| situation can only damage. On the other | | | | help, as doctor, whom you don't trust, |
| hand, you shouldn't leave a baby alone | | | | won't be able to help. Try to avoid |
| with his problems. He shouldn't feel | | | | unpleasant topics, wait a little with |
| abandoned and lonely. | | | | information about bad news: sick baby |
| Quite often parents of sick children | | | | need not to know that his favorite |
| need more psychological help, then | | | | doggie eats bad or that cat ate hamster. |
| children themselves, as it is their | | | | While talking to a baby, pay attention |
| correct behavior that influences a | | | | to positive moments of staying at |
| baby's mood for recovery. | | | | hospital. Think about things you can |
| Here're several recommendations of | | | | compliment him for: he bears procedures |
| experts. Never frighten your baby with | | | | with fortitude, doesn't play about, |
| hospital. Don't create future problems, | | | | could make friends with somebody, drew a |
| as there's hardly any baby, who hasn't | | | | good picture etc. |
| been at hospital for his life. During | | | | Unfilled spare time increases feeling of |
| conversations with other people avoid | | | | loneliness, longing for home. So you |
| such phrases, like: "There doctors | | | | should definitely worry about things |
| hardly understand something, I wish only | | | | your child should do. Bring him an |
| they don't harm my child" etc. | | | | interesting book, meccano, some new |
| In case of baby hospitalization do your | | | | game, paints, crayons etc. Bring a toy |
| best to reduce stress and melancholy | | | | for a small baby surely. You can tell |
| because of coming separation from home | | | | that a new "friend" came to him |
| and parents. Adults themselves should be | | | | specially to protect him at nights (if a |
| confident in future, calm and wise, so | | | | baby is predisposed to night fears). It |
| that a baby would treat staying at | | | | will be very good, if you bring him a |
| hospital calmly. If hospitalization is | | | | toy bear, elephant, lion, tiger, i.e. |
| planned and you have at least 1-2 days | | | | any big animal, which will be able to |
| for preparation, involve baby in | | | | personify power and protection (size of |
| preparations, as if he would be going to | | | | toy is not important). |
| health centre or camp. | | | | After discharge talk to your baby about |
| Try to dispose your baby to optimism. | | | | time he spent at hospital. Ask him about |
| Children have great intuition, and it's | | | | things he learned to do, what he |
| almost impossible to persuade them in | | | | understood about himself and his |
| things, which you don't believe yourself | | | | relations with other people, help him to |
| in. So, first of all you should analyze | | | | realize value of experience he gained. |
| your own emotions and forget about | | | | |