Your Child in the Hospital
My Hospital Journal
My name:__________________________

Date I came to the hospital:__________________________

Name of the hospital:__________________________


What I thought it would be like:__________________________

What my parents told me:___________________________

What the hospital tour was like:__________________________

What I packed:___________________________

My room number:____________________________
My bed:____________________________
What I see out my window:__________________________

How I decorate my room:___________________________

How my parents describe it:__________________________

How my doctor describes it:__________________________

What I think of it:_____________________________


My doctor’s name: ___________________________

What I call him/her:__________________________

What I like best about my doctor:____________________________

My doctor writes a note:_____________________________

My nurses’ names:____________________________

What I call them:__________________________

What I like best about my nurses:____________________________

My nurses write a note:__________________________


My roommate’s name:__________________________

Why my roommate is in the hospital:__________________________

Where my roommate lives:__________________________

What I like about sharing a room:__________________________

What I don’t like:__________________________

My teacher’s name:_

My best friends at school:__________________________

How my class will know I am in the hospital:__________________________

How many days of school I am missing:__________________________

How I do my homework:__________________________

People who sent me cards or gifts



What I order for meals:__________________________

Favorite breakfast:__________________________

Favorite lunch:__________________________

Favorite dinner:__________________________

Hospital food I don’t like:__________________________

Food I can’t have:__________________________

Places I’ve been to in the hospital
____ Lobby
____ Gift shop
____ Cafeteria
____ Playroom
____ Elevator
____ Operating room
____ Recovery room
____ Nurses’ station
____ X-ray room
Others:__________________________

What happens at night in the hospital
What it sounds like:__________________________

When the nurses come in:___________________________

What nurses do at night:___________________________

What I like:__________________________

What I don’t like:__________________________

My brother(s):__________________________

My sister(s):__________________________

My pets:__________________________

My friends:__________________________

My bed:__________________________
What else?__________________________

How I play in my room:_

What the hospital playroom is like:_

How I go to the playroom:___________________________

Who helps kids in the playroom:____________________________

What toys are there:__________________________

Other kids I met in the playroom:__________________________

Pills I have to take:__________________________

How the pills taste:__________________________

Liquid medicine I have to take:__________________________

How my liquid medicine tastes:__________________________

How often I have medicine:__________________________

How I feel about my medicines:____________________________

____ CAT scan
____ X-ray
____ Blood draw
Others:___________________________

Tests I like the best:__________________________

Tests I don’t like:____________________________

Prizes I get:__________________________

What my operation is for:___________________________

What my bandages look like:_

My surgeon’s name:__________________________

What I remember:__________________________

How long I stayed in the hospital:____________________________

The day I left the hospital:__________________________

How I went from my room to the front door of the hospital:

What it was like outside:__________________________

Who drove me home:__________________________

How I felt about leaving:__________________________

What I remember most:__________________________

How I’ll feel if I have to go to the hospital again:_______________

Table of Contents
All Guides- Introduction
- 1. Before You Go
- 2. The Emergency Room
- 3. Preparing Your Child
- 4. The Facilities
- 5. The Staff
- 6. Communicating with Doctors
- 7. Common Procedures
- 8. Surgery
- 9. Pain Management
- 10. Family and Friends. What to Say
- 11. Family and Friends. How to Help
- 12. Feelings and Behavior
- 13. Siblings
- 14. Long-Term Illness or Injury
- 15. School
- 16. Medical and Financial Records
- 17. Insurance
- 18. Sources of Financial Help
- 19. Looking Back
- My Hospital Journal
- Packing List
- Resources
- Contributors
- About the Author
