Hospitalization: an aid to physical and psychological health in childhood.

Abstract

The hospitalization of young children is an important and difficult experience for the child and the family, especially the mother. To those responsible for the health of the child there is the challenge of helping the child and mother to master this difficult experience.* Often it appears that the hospital provides for the physical needs of the child and opposes or deals harshly with his psychological needs. When hospitalization is planned as a therapeutic measure, one avoids the limited view that it is suitable for young children if psychological trauma is avoided. Indeed, the personnel of the modern hospital often is able to create an environment in which certain children for a short time can deal with their physical and emotional needs better than at home. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that in the elective hospitalization of young children, both psychological and physical needs can be