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
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
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).
The hours of many physicians are long and irregular as the job entails caring for many different patients who have different needs. While working in a hospital, pediatrics is collaborative specialty meaning one must work with other medical specialists and healthcare professionals to improve heath and emotional needs of adolescents. If a child has a heart condition, a pediatrician must meet with a cardiologist to produce a plan that would benefit the young patient’s heart. Pediatricians in a hospital sett...
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
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.
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
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:
Play is a way for children to learn about their environment and how interaction occurs within. It is through trial and error that children are able to create options; follow their own interests and show “independence in thought and actions” using their knowledge and understanding (Moyles, 2005, p.3). Children develop resilience though play. However for a number of children can experience stressful occurrences during their lives and play can often be restricted. Therefore the play worker’s role in supporting children’s play is a crucial measure towards children's development. For those that work with children require the dexterity to prompt and contribute to children’s play, which can be seen as a principle aspect of therapeutic alliance. However, for those children mentioned above, what happens when play becomes non-existent or deprived, then how do these children engage in play? Whilst this has been a continuous discussion amongst practitioners as well as researchers in the field of child development, this essay will “evaluate some of the benefits and challenges of developing play/leisure activities” of therapeutic play, along with identifying how play serves its purpose in regards to children’s holistic and play development. In addition, using a therapeutic alliance this essay will accentuate how the therapist can support children’s play, promoting and expanding the child’s play through implementing activities in a child centred-play/directive approach.
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).
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,
Play directly influences how children develop both emotionally and socially. Children learn how to express their emotions and cope with their feelings as they experiment with different characters in their play. Play gives children a “harmless outlet to their built up aggression” (CHETN). This is displayed when a child becomes angry, upset, or stressed about a situation in their lives; these young children may not be old enough or have the proper communication tools to communicate what they are feeling. Therefor they may choose to play with objects that depict the emotions that they are feeling and attempt to cope. Simply said, a child will use play to explain how they are feeling rather than acting out in a negative fashion (Wehrman 351). This not only works for the child when expressing emotions, it can also be effective for whole families in coping with emotions. When families come together and play they may be “less analytical and intellectual and more ...
Play is essential to the development of cognitive, social, motor, and language skills in children (Carlson et al., 2006). Ginott (1960) noted that play is a child's language, and toys are the child's words. In play therapy, children's play is seen as a symbolic representation of their world (Homeyer & Morrison, 2008). Children use play to cope with stressful situations and to make meaning and process those situations (Carlson et al., 2006). The Association for Play Therapy (APT) (2016) defined play therapy as, "the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained Play Therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth
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.
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.