To communicate accurate, complete information that is developmentally appropriate
Join us in celebrating Child Life Week, March 21-25: Child Life is on your team. Child life professionals work in many areas of Children’s Minnesota to help children and families navigate their health care experiences.
As part of the medical team, child life professionals use their unique skills to promote effective coping through play, preparation, education and self-expressive activities.
Use language that is clear rather than ambiguous
| Ambiguous | Clearer |
| Gas, sleeping gas, put under, knocked out | Medicine air, called anesthesia, that you breathe through a small mask for the anesthesia sleep so you do not feel anything during surgery |
| PACU (pack you in?) | Wake-up/recovery room |
| Take you to the floor (where’s the bed?) | Hospital bedroom |
| Take your blood pressure (remove blood?) | Measure, or check your blood pressure |
__________
Use language that is soft rather than hard
| Harder | Softer |
| Pain, hurt, sting, owie | Sore, pressure, uncomfortable, ache, scratchy |
| Burn | Warm feeling, sensation |
| Cut, open up, slice, hole | Opening, incision |
| Shot (like a gun) | Poke, medicine through a small needle/syringe |
| Bad tasting medicine | Medicine that tastes different |
__________
Use language that is familiar rather than unfamiliar
| Unfamiliar | Familiar |
| Incision | Small opening |
| Intravenous, I.V. | Tiny tube or medicine straw that goes into a vein |
| Anesthesia (not Anastasia) | Medicine air you breathe for surgery sleep |
| CT, CAT scan (are there cats?) | A large camera that takes pictures of your ____. |
| Stretcher (stretch who?) | Bed with wheels and side rails |
CHILD LIFE AT CHILDREN'S MINNESOTA
We work with children and adolescents to minimize the stress children can feel during hospital stays and other health care visits.