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Pediatric

Communicating with Children

  1. Avoid "rushing in" on a child. Give the child time to adjust to your presence before touching him or her.
  2. Be aware of body language, the child’s and your own.
  3. Meet the child at his or her eye level.
  4. Use simple language appropriate to his or her development level.
  5. If the child draws away from you, talk to the parents and appear to ignore him or her for a while.
  6. Use a toy or a game to begin an interaction.
  7. Call the child by his or her name often.
  8. Do not laugh at a child, but do laugh with him or her.
  9. Demonstrate any unfamiliar procedure on a doll if possible.
  10. Always tell the truth. Do not say a procedure will not hurt if it will hurt.
  11. Tell the child it is okay to cry if a procedure will hurt.
  12. Unless a child objects to being touched, a gentle pat on the back or shoulder can communicate caring.
  13. Make positive rather than negative statements. Example: Say "Put your feet on the floor" rather than "Don’t put your feet on the table."
  14. Avoid moralizing. Such phrases as "You’re such a good boy (or girl) for not crying" may imply that he or she is not a "good" child if he or she cries the next time.
  15. When correcting negative behavior, do not demean. Example: Say "You may not hit Susan. It hurts to be hit" rather than "Don’t hit Susan. That’s an ugly thing to do."
  16. Don’t give a choice when there is none. Example: Say "It’s time to take your medicine" rather than "Will you take your medicine for me?"

If a child has well-developed language skills but is noncommunicative, one of the following techniques may enhance communication:

  1. Provide supplies, and ask the child to draw a picture about how he or she feels, what the hospital is like, or something his or her family likes to do.
  2. Ask the child to tell a story about the picture he or she has drawn.
  3. Ask the child "If you could have three wishes, what would they be?"
  4. Ask the child "What makes you angrier (or happier) than anything else?"
  5. Use the third person to question a suspected problem. Example: "Sometimes people are afraid when they are in the hospital. Do you ever feel that way?"
  6. An adolescent may be hesitant to discuss his or her feelings. Ask him or her to explain what things would be like for you if you had just been diagnosed with the same condition that afflicts him or her.