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Children's painful procedures and operations - how can parents help?
Disclaimer: This fact sheet is for educational use only. Please consult your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child.
Key points to remember- as a parent you know your child best, and so can greatly assist staff in helping your child cope with the
procedure or surgery
- be honest and calm when informing your child about the procedure and answering their questions
- decide on which coping strategies you and your child think would be most helpful
- it
is generally helpful for a child to have a parent present during a
painful procedure and / or when your child wakes up after surgery. If you
feel unable to be present think, about arranging for another person your
child is comfortable with to be present
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Things you can doSometimes medical procedures can be uncomfortable or painful.
Hospital staff will use various methods to reduce your child's pain and
discomfort. It is important that pain is managed.
As a parent you know your child best, and can therefore greatly
assist staff in helping your child cope with the procedure or surgery.
- talk to your child's doctor about the
procedure /operation that has been scheduled. Be sure to ask any
questions that you may have
- provide your child with simple and honest information
- answer
any questions that your child may have. If you don't know the answer to
your child's questions try to find out (for example, tell them that you don't
know, but together you will ask the doctor or a nurse)
- an explanation
about the reason and nature of the procedure should be given well
beforehand. There may only be limited or no opportunity to do so during
the actual procedure
- it is generally helpful for a child to
have a parent present during a painful procedure and / or when your child
wakes up after surgery. If you feel unable to be present think about
arranging for another person your child is comfortable, trusts and
feels safe with to be present
- distraction is often helpful
during a procedure. Distraction involves encouraging your child to
focus on things other than the medical procedure. For example: blowing
bubbles, looking at pop-up or other interesting picture books, watching
a video, playing with other favourite toys, or singing
- use
of relaxation strategies may be helpful. It is important that they are
practiced beforehand. There are many ways to relax. Some of these
include:
- slow breathing techniques
- guided
imagery: this may involve picturing oneself in a favourite place by
imagining what you can see, hear, feel, taste and smell
- muscle relaxation techniques
- listening to music (being aware that if your child needs to be still, to keep this in mind for music choice)
- praise the child for any attempts at using helpful coping strategies. For example:
- "you used your listening ears"
- "you used your words to tell us..."
- "you kept your arm still"
- if your child cries because of the pain let him or her know that it is OK to feel upset
- it
can be helpful to give your child some control over what is happening
(for example, whether they sit or lie down for the procedure); this needs to be
discussed with the nurse and / or doctor first
- it is good to
talk with your child about the procedure afterwards; especially about
what your child did that helped them cope. Some children may want to
draw a picture about their experience. This helps your child better
understand what they experienced which will make it easier should they
need to have any more procedures in the future
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Where to go for more informationOn this website
Treatments for pain:
The Centre for Pediatric Pain Research website provides information on helping children cope with painful procedures:
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AcknowledgementsStarship Foundation and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand acknowledge the co-operation of The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick, and Kaleidoscope - Hunter Children's Health Network in making this fact sheet available to patients and families.
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Your notes
Endorsement
This fact sheet was endorsed by PSNZ - 24/03/2011
Copyright
Fact sheets are subject to copyright. In the interests of information sharing they may be copied but acknowledgement must be given to PSNZ and Starship Foundation.
© The Paediatric Society of New Zealand and Starship Foundation 2005 - 2012
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