Therapeutic Role of Play in Hospital.

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The therapeutic role of play in hospital Playing is a very important part of development for all children. For a child spending time in hospital or recovering from illness this can play a very important role in helping the child to come to terms with what is going to happen to them and help them make sense of what they are going through. Through play children may express emotions that they may find hard to in other ways. By pretending, for example, a dolly is a child in hospital going through similar experiences to the child, you can show the child what may happen and explain that dolly will get better after the doctors operate and fix the dolly. If the child needs bed baths, this can be distressing; through letting them give their dolly a bed bath in play you can talk through what the dolly may be feeling and why the dolly shouldn’t be scared. Children will often use their own experiences in play anyway, so using this to help the child come to terms with what they are going through is something children do themselves naturally anyway, the role of the therapist would just be to take note of any comments the child makes and address any worries or concerns the child has. Play can also help children to feel some control, in a situation that is unfamiliar and out of their control like hospital, this can be very helpful, and help them feel more confident. Role play is often used in hospital paediatric wards to help children get used to some of the equipment they may come across or procedures they may have to go through. Props may be used like toy syringes or bandages. The therapist will often follow the child’s lead as they may be tired or resting and allow children to explore at their own pace. When children are bed bound, age appropriate toys should be taken to them so they still some
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