Overview
Siblings of a child facing a complex healthcare condition also need support and attention, just as their hospitalized brother or sister does. By addressing siblings’ unique needs, M Health Fairview Pediatrics’ Child and Family Life Services team helps to reduce stress and promote positive coping as all members of the family navigate this experience.
What are siblings’ unique needs?
When a child is facing a serious health issue, it can have a dramatic effect on the whole family, including the hospitalized child’s brothers and sisters. Of course, siblings love and miss their hospitalized brother or sister. But they may also experience emotions they don’t always know how to express or deal with, including fear, worry, sadness, confusion, frustration, anger, guilt, and jealousy.
Understandably, parents tend to focus their energies on the child who is facing the health challenge. They may feel that their hospitalized child needs them more. But siblings can respond with a range of behaviors, including acting out, withdrawing, regressing to earlier behaviors, or clinging to their parents. The more parents can do to preserve a sense of normalcy, routine, and stability for their other children, the more secure those children will feel.
When siblings are visiting the hospital
When siblings visit the hospital, they may feel anxious or unsure about what to do. The environment, the equipment – perhaps even the way their brother or sister looks – can all be confusing for brothers and sisters, depending on their age. Nevertheless, visiting the hospital is a great way to lift kids’ spirits and help families feel connected to each other.
Before they visit the hospital, it’s a good idea to prepare siblings for their visit by talking with them about what they might see and experience in the hospital room. It’s also a good idea to have a few strategies on hand to help all your children – both patient and visitor – feel comfortable and involved during the visit. Here are a few ideas to get you started. For more individualized tips, talk with a member of our Child and Family Life Services team.
Set up a sibling movie night
Rent or bring a movie from home. It can be a family favorite or a new movie your children want to see. Add in popcorn, pajamas, and comfy blankets, and you're all set for a fun movie night.
Decorate the hospital room together
Grab some crayons, markers, paper, and other craft supplies and decorate the hospital room. Siblings can work together to make a "favorites" poster with information about each of the siblings' favorite things (activities, foods, animals, colors, etc.)
Hang out in a play space
If the hospitalized sibling is able to leave the hospital room, siblings can visit our hospital's play spaces together to play or enjoy an activity together. Scroll down to read about some amenities at our hospitals or learn more about our locations.
Bring an activity to share
Siblings can bring a game or toy from home to share during their visit. If the hospitalized sibling is not feeling up to that level of activity, siblings can pick out books and cozy blankets for a reading date.
Remember, you are not alone
Our team of certified child life specialists is available to help prepare siblings for a hospital visit, including what they may see or hear in their sibling's room, what their sibling may look like, and how they can play or interact with their siblings. We can also help answer siblings' questions and enable them to express their feelings. Our Child and Family Life Services team is available at a variety of hospital and specialty clinic locations throughout our system, including M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital and M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital.
Concerned about keeping your family connected during a hospitalization? Read tips from Child and Family Life Services here.
M Health Fairview Amenities
At M Health Fairview Pediatrics, we know that when a child is facing a significant health issue, the whole family must adapt. And because of that, we offer support for every family member. Our pediatric facilities and units offer a range of family-friendly resources and amenities to engage siblings of children facing health challenges. Here’s a sample from our Masonic Children’s Hospital campus.
Kyle Rudolph's End Zone
Designed with tweens and teens in mind, the End Zone is a therapeutic play space featuring a sports simulator, a video game lounge, a basketball hoop, a community kitchen, and many other activities and areas.
The Zucker Family Suite and Broadcast Studio
This facility includes a theater and our in-hospital broadcast studio, where patients, families and staff create engaging, interactive programs for the families under our care.
The Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation Wellness Center
Located on the fifth floor of our children's hospital, the wellness center helps caregivers prioritize self-care with an exercise area, a salong, and an integrative therapies space.
Family Resource Center
The center hosts a varied schedule of events and activities for patients and families and includes a lending library of books, video games, DVDs and board games.
The Ngin Sport Cort and John A. Sullivan Playground
Located on the plaza outside M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital, the Ngin Sport Court includes a basketball court, a four-square game space, and other imaginative and active play areas. Next to the sports court, the animal-themed John A. Sullivan playground was designed to give families an outdoor escape from the hospital.