My 3-year-old child has to go into hospital for a small operation

Health visitor Dawn replies: You may be surprised at how child and family-friendly hospitals are. To reassure yourself call your hospital and see if you and your son can have a pre-admission visit to see the ward where he'll be going. Some units even offer sessions where children can play with equipment and wear gowns, so they can familiarise themselves with the hospital. The most important thing you can do is be honest - tell him where he's going and in basic terms, what's going to happen. Encourage him to play ‘doctors' at home so you can prepare him in a fun way for his experiences in hospital, without making a fuss.
There are also some good children's books about hospital - try Going To The Hospital by Anna Civardi (£3.99, Usborne Publishing).

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