Children and families

Coming to GOSH
- How to get referred
- How to get here
- Important information
- Keeping GOSH clean
- Clinical units and wards
- Meet the team
- Coping with a hospital
  visit
  - Looking after yourself
  - Soon after birth
  - Helping your child cope
    - Babies and pre-school
      children
    - Primary school
      children
    - Teenagers
  - Helping your other
    children cope
  - Fear of needles
- Outpatients
- Staying at GOSH
- What to bring
- Food at GOSH
- A to Z of facilities
- Family file
-   Go Create!
    Arts & Humanities
    programme
Factsheets
Advice and support
Research
Getting involved
Glossary

Coming to GOSH

Coping in hospital

Helping your child cope

Teenagers

Everyone feels scared about coming into hospital, but your teenager may not want to admit this. Try having an open conversation with them to give them the opportunity of voicing any concerns without the fear of someone laughing at them.

Teenagers often need reassurance too. What actually happens may be very different to what they have seen on television. Visiting the ward and finding out about their illness or operation can help put fears at bay. Keeping teenagers involved can seem difficult at times, but it helps them feel they are taking control over a very important part of their life. If your teenager is having any form of treatment, ask them how they feel about it. He or she will have the opportunity to sign the consent form to give their permission for any operation or procedure, although you will need to sign it too if your teenager is under 16 years old. As your teenager grows older, it is important to offer the opportunity to talk to the doctor or nurse alone. This helps them take control and can also help prepare for the transition from children's to adolescent or adult services. Encourage him or her to ask questions - writing a list often helps.

Some teenagers find it difficult to cope with treatment plans. This can be for many reasons including difficulty in remembering what to do at what time, but can also be a sign of a more deep-seated reason. Your teenager may have trouble in accepting his or her illness or condition, thinking that it only affects children and so will go away as he or she grows older. Teenagers often fear 'standing out' from their friends in any way, like having to eat regularly or different foods to everyone else, or the side effects from their medicine making them look different. This can be difficult to deal with, and the temptation for parents is to take over completely, but what teenagers need most is reassurance and support. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please talk to the nurse caring for your teenager.

Some teenagers may worry about what they will miss while being in hospital. Staying in touch with the outside world is very important so find out about the facilities available at GOSH. Mobile phones should not be used in the hospital, but there are areas where you can go to send text messages and emails. There is also the Den - a special area only for teenagers and young adults and a Cyber Café in the school as well.

If your teenager is facing exams in the next year or two and is worried about missing schoolwork, the hospital school can help. They will talk to your local school and make sure that he or she does not miss out on any work while in hospital. Some teenagers even find that they are ahead of the class when they return.