If your child has a fear of doctors and hospitals (as most children do), you will want to hear about this.
My son has been visiting the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) since the ripe old age of two. With more than 30 appointments and procedures under his belt, he is not at all afraid of going to the hospital for a routine visit. At this point he is an old pro. For most kids, however, hospitals are very intimidating places. To a child (and even to many adults) the hospital is a scary world of unknown noises, wires, machines, needles, smells and people.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia understands that knowing what to expect at the hospital can go a long way in relieving a child’s nerves, so they launched a website to make the hospital a less scary place for kids. Together with funding in part from the Comcast Foundation, CHOP has launched KidsHealthGalaxy.com.
At KidsHealthGalaxy.com, your child can go on an interactive, kid-friendly virtual tour of the hospital. During the online hospital tour, children can learn about the room they will stay in and what items they can bring with them. They can also learn about some of the medical equipment they will see during their stay and some of the people whom they will meet. The site also features engaging movie clips that describe a few of the most common hospital procedures for kids. The site even has fun games and activities for kids.
Your child does not have to be visiting CHOP or another children’s hospital to benefit from this amazing virtual tool. The site can be used by doctors, caregivers and parents alike to alleviate a child’s anxiety before any hospital visit. You can even visit the site if your child is not heading to the hospital any time soon as a great online learning tool. To check it out for yourself go to KidsHealthGalaxy.com.
Way to go, CHOP!
Have your kids been to a hospital yet? Do you think KidsHealthGalaxy.com would have lessened their fears?
Scary but great information!
Thanks, Lee.
GREAT information – I went from being so proud of never having gone to the emergency room – to each of us visiting once in the last year. . .both the kids were brave – their curiosity taking over their fear for the most part. Luckily each of the visits ended well for us.
Hillary
Love that the curiosity took over the fear!
Such great information–as a local who has been to CHOP, I find it intimidating in parts. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks, Julie.
I found myself enjoying parts of the site. Kid friendly and love the diversity. I wish we had something like that for my daughter. Pamphlets can only go so far.