Fabulous Find Friday: Superhero Training School

What is the hospital? What’s it like to stay there when going through treatment? For the kids who are facing a new diagnosis or upcoming treatment in a new hospital, how do you explain what they will encounter or go through? Do you use the big scary words or translate the experiences into something that the kids will understand? Superhero Training School to the rescue!

Superhero Training School is a book written for kids that likens the hospital experience  to being at Superhero Training School. The author wrote this book when his young son was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he used the superhero metaphors to explain the new experiences that his son would encounter in the hospital.

Visit https://superherotrainingschool.org/ to order your copy of Superhero Training School.

Book Review: Surgery Day

I recently got the chance to check out Surgery Day by Julie Kaderabek and Laura Wolfe and I loved it! Using non-threatening language, Surgery Day walks children through the steps of their upcoming surgery. With developmentally appropriate language, Surgery Day describes the different medical equipment and experiences that will encounter in the hospital and gives children accurate information to prepare them for their surgery. Research shows that children cope better with new experiences if they are given the time and information to prepare for success. Surgery Day allows parents and caregivers to prepare their children for the new and often intimidating experience of surgery.

Visit 2 RNs to check out Surgery Day and learn more about the talented authors that created this book.

Fabulous Find Fridays: When Someone Very Special Dies

Last month I share with you a great journal for children who are coping with a loved one’s serious illness. Sometimes those loved ones die which means the child needs a different kind of support. One of my favorite bereavement resources for school age children is When Someone Very Special Dies by Marge Heegaard. This book is also a journal that encourages children to reflect on their experience following a death. Through language and spaces to draw, children are accompanied in their grief journey.

Fabulous Find Fridays: Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie

Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick is a great resource for teen siblings who are trying to cope with a little brother or sister’s illness. Although the book is focused on a teen’s younger brother’s battle with cancer, the main character in the book goes through many of the stages of grief and coping while learning to navigate the hospital environment.

Steven doesn’t believe that his brother has cancer when Jeffrey is first diagnosed. He thinks that his little brother is being spoiled until Jeffrey starts losing his hair. Then Steven begins bargaining that he’ll behave better if his brother is cured. And finally Steven accepts Jeffrey’s cancer diagnosis and begins to learn more about the hospital environment that his brother is now a part of. While all of this is happening at home with his family, Steven is also going through typical middle school drama. This book is a great resource for any teens that are struggling with a loved ones diagnosis. It can serve as a reminder that they aren’t alone and the emotions they are feeling in response to this situation are normal.

Favorite Bereavement Resources

There are many resources that can be given to families when providing bereavement support. Below are a few of my favorite things;

Bare Heart Buddy. I love these bears because they have a hidden pocket in them and come in pairs. This means that children can put notes in one for their loved one and leave it at the bedside or in the casket and then they can keep the other bear and put keepsakes in it.

Color Wonder is great for making hand prints. By painting the patient’s hand with a clear gel, it will come up on the magic paper. Their loved one, the parent or sibling, can then add their hands to the picture. Because it’s a clear gel, it’s not as messy as paint it. Although I do want to share with you all one thing that we always remind families, make sure to make color copies! The paint does fade after time to if you copy it, it will last longer.

Fire in My Heart, Ice in My Veins is a journal for teens. If you work with an adolescent population regularly, you know how hard it is to find resources to promote positive coping in teens. Books are either written for children or adults and teens are in this in-between phase where they need targeted support. This journal is specific for end of life situations and offers the reader many opportunities to write and draw their feelings. Because it’s aimed at teens, the wording isn’t so childish that teens feel babied by it but also not written so much for an adult that it loses the teens’ attention.

 

When Someone Very Special Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief. This is a journal for school-aged children about death. It focuses on how things change in life and opens a dialogue with children about what grief is.

The Invisible String is a book for school-aged children that talks about loving someone although they aren’t there with you. Because it’s not specific for death, this book can be used for a variety of losses and separation. When used in bereavement settings, it can help lead discussion about how although our loved one isn’t here with us they still love us and we can still love them.

A Terrible Thing Happened is a book for young children about when something bad happens. It talks about the feelings that children might have, like an upset stomach, and how it is helpful to talk to someone about how you are feeling. The terrible thing is vague throughout the book so that this resource can be used for pretty much any bad thing that happens, but it helps children recognize that these feelings are normal and it’s okay to talk about them.

What are your favorite bereavement resources?

Fabulous Find Fridays: When Someone Has a Very Serious Illness

It’s hard to find books for kids about illness, even harder to find age appropriate journals. When Someone Has a Very Serious Illness by Marge Heegard is a great journal for school age kids to use when they are processing and working on coping with a loved one’s diagnosis. It gives enough direction that you don’t need to be a therapist or a Child Life Specialist to guide a child in their journey through this book, but the book can be a great partner for Child Life Specialists during their support sessions for children. The books pages are filled with open spaces where a child is encouraged to express their feelings and thoughts about a special someone’s serious illness.

 

Fabulous Find Friday: Angry Octopus

Today’s Fabulous Find Friday is Angry Octopus by Lori Lite. Angry Octopus is a guided imagery story that teaches children coping skills for when they are feeling really angry. As someone who isn’t very experienced with leading guided imagery, I like this book because all you have to do is read the story. I really enjoy reading out loud and this story was an easy way to lead children in relaxation techniques. The Octopus squeezes his muscles and relaxes them, takes deep breaths and becomes calmer throughout the story.

Fabulous Find Friday: Child Life Secrets Exam Study Guide

Earlier this week I took the Certification Exam and this book was by far the most helpful resource that I used to study. What’s great about this study guide is that it covers a wide variety of material ranging from ethics and professional practice to play and child development. The other thing that’s nice about this book is that not only is there a practice test with answers, but there are paragraph length explanations for why each answer is right/wrong. After reading the books on the Association’s assigned list, this is a great study guide to use in the month before you take the exam. I highly recommend it!

Fabulous Find Fridays: My First Look and Find Books

My top three distraction tools for young children are light spinners, bubbles and MY FIRST LOOK AND FIND BOOKS! There is so much to love about these books, but here are my top three reasons.

First, they come in two sizes. The small one are nice because they fit well in a distraction bag, but I prefer the larger books. They are 12 inches tall which makes them perfect for blocking children’s views of procedures. When it comes to sutures and IVs where the patient has received numbing medication, I prefer to block the procedure from the child’s view as I think it promotes positive coping for toddler and preschool age children.

Second, they are easy to do. During my internship, I worked with a two year old oncology patient who loved these books. After only a couple times of my showing her how to do the books, the patient was able to find the indicated items with no help. But older preschools also like them because there are many items to find which makes it seem more challenging for them.

Third, the books are based of popular children’s TV shows and there are many versions. This allows you to personalize care and also diversify your distraction tools for chronic patients that you see frequently.

Fabulous Find Friday: Owl Babies Book

Owl Babies is a great book for helping young children understand separation, especially as a reminder that mommys and daddys come back. Owl Babies by Martin Waddell tells the story of three owl babies in the nest who awaken to find that their mommy is gone. They worry and wonder where she has gone with the youngest one really wanting mommy. When she returns at the end, she is greeted with excitement and joy. It is a great story to help children express their feelings about separation which is common during a child’s hospital stay.