Play in hospital is a relatively old concept, based on evidence showing the negative impact of hosptalisation on children's emotional wellbeing (because for a child, going to hospital means being thrown into an entirely new environment, strange and terifying). The Platt Report (1959) made
55 recommendations including the need for play to be organised under skilled supervision, in order to reduce the negative effects of separation of mother and child, disturbance of routine and lack of training for doctors and nurses regarding the emotional and mental needs of children. Ent forIn 1966 an OMEP working party swt up a requirement for hospitals to allow unrestricted visiting and generous arrangements for play. Susan Harvey, a Save the Children
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This is why play in hospitals is never merely a pastime. In fact, it is an important part of the treatment children receive. Play helps children to prepare for what is going to happen, and it helps them work through their anxieties, fears, and experiences that could be traumatic otherwise. Not all play taking place in a hospital will be automatically therapeutic play/ One definition states that therapeutic play activities must take the psychosocial and cognitive development of children into account, in order to facilitate the emotional and physical well-being of hospitalized children. Therapeutic play can be also defined as a structured form of play activities designed based on the age, development of cognitive functions, and health condition of a child. For children, play is most natural form of communication and selfexpression, so through it, children can communicate both the family and the medical and nursing staff, as well as work through many, often overhelming, emotions they experience. Play also helps children to become familiar with the hospital environment, and with the medical procedures required
(e.g., venipuncture), and make choices so they can feel that they maintain control (for
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Successful distraction therapy enables the child to feel positive about their treatment and empowers them to take control)
Post-procedural play (used to identify fears and misconceptions following a procedure)
Individual referrals (requested by various members of the multi-disciplinary team, can include children and young people who are needle phobic, newly diagnosed diabetics, children with eating problems, headaches or pain with no obvious cause or children with chronic illness being cared for at home. Here, a range of therapeutic activities are used depending on the individual needs of the child. Referrals usually involve the child coming back to the hospital for specific play sessions with agreed aims and objectives set).
Working with siblings (should be established practice in any hospital play scheme, as it is understood that when a child is admitted, the whole family unit can be
This is achieved through the close relationship of the family members the pediatric patient. Safety is increased because the family members are treated as part of the health care team and not simply visitors (Moore, Coker, DuBuisson, Swett, & Edwards, 2003). Furthermore, the patients are able to communicate with personnel about what they see happening to their child as well as making decisions regarding what treatments they want their infant to receive (Moore et al., 2003). The input from the patient 's family is very important in ensuring patient safety because the family members know the patient much better than medical staff (IWK Health Centre, 2016). This allows family members to more acutely notice changes in the pediatric patients status which allows them to quickly notify health care professionals. This could prove very beneficial when providing care for a pediatric patient in intensive
Play therapy gives a safe and caring environment for the child to play with a small amount of limitations; which promotes physical and emotional safety. There is no medication used in this type of therapy. “Play and creativity operate on impulses from outside our awareness – the unconscious.” (playtherapy.org) There many benefits to play therapy for children. It helps children “develop respect and acceptance of self and others, learn to experience and express emotion, and learn new social skills and relational skills with family.” (a4pt.org) It would be important to have Maria’s father included in her treatment. Therapists recommend for every person in the child’s life to be part of the child’s therapy but at the least they would like to create a plan with the caretaker to resolve issues and keep track of
As a pediatric hospitalist, there are a wide range of duties that must be completed for the safety and well-being of one’s patients. A duty amongst all physicians is caring for a patient’s illnesses. As a pediatrician, one must be involved in the physical, mental, and emotional upbringing of adolescents throughout every stage of development in good health as well as in illness. A pediatrician takes care of a child from a few weeks after birth to the age of twenty-one when the patient transfers to a new physician. The duties designated to all pediatricians is to reduce infant and child mortality rates, control diseases, make sure patients lead well-maintained lifestyles, and make easier the lives of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. Becoming a pediatrician would improve the lives of many children.
Play is instrumental in the healthy development of children. The development of play throughout an individual life is essential in providing the necessary methods to foster growth and development in critical developmental areas. According to Davies (2011), play is instrumental in providing a bridge for the child to transition from a toddler with a limited capacity to understand the world into a child in the middle years who can think logically. Play is also important in fostering cognitive development, social development, language and communication, moral development, self-regulation, and sense identity.
For children, therapy can be a scary thing. Seeing a therapist can be difficult for adults, as it requires trusting a new person and often entails divulging the most intimate details of one's life. Imagine, then, how difficult it must be for children to adjust to counseling. It is necessary to create a comfortable environment for them to feel safe and able to open up. In this research paper, I will be exploring the efficacy of play therapy in history and across many cases, from its first mention in publication in the seventies to today, when it is the focus of a major psychological association (APT), and is practiced with massive success by child psychologists everywhere.
In this article Pereira (2014) focuses on techniques that can be used to include children in family therapy. This article specifically refers to children who are 6 years or older, being that the techniques used may be too complicated for younger children to understand. Most therapists struggle to find ways to actively engage children in family therapy due to the differences in level of verbal expressions, as well as differences in life experiences (Pereira, 2014). To make family therapy more effective for all members of the family, play is often incorporated.
Rye N. Child-Centred Play Therapy. In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. 2010.
The word “play” has numerous meanings to different people in different contexts. Therefore it cannot have one definition and is described in a number of ways. Smith (2010) describes play as involvement in an activity, purely for amusement and to take part for fun. That play is “done for it’s own sake, for fun, not for any external purpose.” (Smith, 2010. P4) Therefore, as one precise definition cannot be presented for the word ‘play,’ it is described in a number of ways such as social dramatic play. Briggs and Hanson (2012) portray social dramatic play as the building blocks of a child’s ability to accept the possibility to step into another world, building and developing on children’s higher order thinking, accentuating the child as a social learner. Another example of play is exploratory play, which is described as children being placed in an explorer or investigator role, to identify the cause or affect a resources that is presented to them has. (Briggs, M and Hanson, A. 2012) Games are also another example of play. They are included on the basis that playing games with rules, regardless of age, can develop a child’s intellectual capabilities along with their physical, behavioural and emotional health. (Briggs, M and Hanson, A. 2012).
In this particular case children in the hospitals feel in control while they play giving them comfort amidst the uncertainty they commonly feel. A CLS will use the play aspect in many ways. By observing play, a CLS can determine whether or not a child is developing at a rate that is common for a child in their physical and mental position. Child Life Specialists often times will incorporate “medical play” with some of the medical utensils to get the child comfortable with these things such as a tongue depressors, gloves, or a mask. This technique alleviates some of the anxiety the child often feels when going into a procedure (Anderson).
For example, when considering Landreth’s definition of play, does this research even study play (Landreth, 2012)? Clearly, there is a difference of opinions on what constitutes as play, as Landreth believes that play is child-oriented, but in this study play is completely initiated by the parent. On a more positive note, both Landreth and the researchers of this study agree that it is important for parents to be partners in therapeutic play (Landreth, 2012). Another interesting relation to class discussions, is how play used in the study can be categorized as any of the three types of play practice because it all depends on how the parent and child interacted when ‘playing’ with the plush toy. If the child used the toy to learn about his surgery and it aids in learning/development then this could fall under educational play practice. Conversely, if the child used the toy to play freely or as an outlet for discovery, this could be considered recreational play practice. Equally, if the child used the toy to be expressive or as a way to confront stressors, then this type of play could be associated with the ideals of therapeutic play practices (Howard & McInnes, 2013). This study also aligns decently with the ideals and practices of Child Life Specialists (CLS), and the implications of this study for CLS can be far-reaching. The authors state that
All children play and it is something that most children do because they are having fun, but without realising children are developing and learning skills when they are engaged in play. Play helps stimulate the mind as it is practical and gives children the chance to explore and experience new situations. It can also ensure that children get to think by themselves and be spontaneous as they control their own play. Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development:
This is a counselling method used to help youngsters communicate their inner experiences through using toys and play. Nondirective play therapy is a non-pathologizing technique founded on the belief that youngsters have the internal drive to attain wellness (Petruk, 2009). Play therapy is grounded on the theory that play is a youngster’s language, the toys considered the words a youngster uses to express or show their inner experiences and how they experience and perceive the world. Within a play session, and throughout the course of sessions, themes develop in the youngster’s play, giving the therapist insight into the child’s feelings, thoughts, experiences, and interpretations of their world (Petruk,
The children are put through different learning experiences and tasks, for the professionals to evaluate and observe their different development stages. All this helps to understand the children’s adult characteristics for future life as every child’s play experiences are crucial to their adult life.
Children develop normally when they are exposed to different types of play that allow them to express themselves while using their imaginations and being physically active. According to the Center for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness, “Play is child’s work”; this is true because it is a child’s job to learn and develop in their first few years of life, in order for them to do this, they play. Not only is playing a child’s full time job, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights listed play as a right of every child. Through their full time job of play, the children develop emotionally, socially, physically, and creatively. Children need to participate in child-led play in order to facilitate healthy development of their minds, body, and creativity.
Working with children can be very different than working with adults. When working with children it is important to gain an understanding of the child, their family or care provider as well as the environment in which they are in. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what excites us as well as concerns us about pediatrics as well as discuss a nursing theory to guide our practice in pediatrics as well as provide a timeline of our activities.