Editor's Note: I Kid You Not is a regular column on More Than Medicine, where Lauren shares her experiences of wearing both the hat of a child life specialist and a mother.

by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

There’s nothing like severe weather to rattle everything, figuratively and literally. Like many other people around the area, I spent long parts of last night paying attention to the weather. As my own children asked a great deal of questions about the potential of the storm, I was reminded about how scary severe weather can be to children. 

If you child gets nervous about possible bad weather, here are some types to help:

• Learn about weather: Sure, we all remember being in school learning about sun and rain, but how much would you say you know now? Take some time for you and your child to learn about weather. Why does it rain? What are tornadoes? What is lightning? There is any number of ways to learn about it. The more your child understands about weather (and why it happens) the more secure they will feel. In the hospital, this is similar to how/why we prepare children for upcoming procedures. The more that is understood, the easier the overall experience.
• Have a plan and practice it: There are lots of time public service announcements and reminders to have a disaster plan and kit ready. So, if you don’t have one already, develop one with your child. This may involve them helping to put together a disaster kit and talking about where to go if there was a fire. Once you have a plan developed, practice it as a family. Children in school are already familiar with fire drills, so this should be similar. Giving your child a job to do helps to provide them with the control, which can help to ease fears.
• Make a game of it: So, bad weather has rolled around and you and your family are in their safe area. Well, what do now? Why not play a game. If there’s a particular game your family enjoys playing, than use that. If not, try making up a game. Also, be sure to include activities and things to do when pulling your supplies together. It may sound like extra work, but having everyone focused on an activity during a potentially stressful time.

There are a number of other things that you can do, especially if they will help your child. The bottom line is that anything you can do in advance will help your child feel calmer when severe weather is a possibility. Besides, you’ll be surprised how much better your feel about the situation.

by Fordell (age 14)
Le Bonheur Patient

Loves every patient

   makEs good scrambled eggs :)

     Blast off on the 10th floor.

    Other floors are nice too.

       No patient is left unsatisfied.

Hope fills there.      

           Every surgery patient gets a gift.

      YoU'll really love this hospital.

It helps you get thRough your rough time.                     

by Ginger Joe
School Teacher

What makes a child extraordinary?  C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R!  Who comes to my mind but dear Opie Taylor from the The Andy Griffith Show.  Remember the impact that Paw, Aunt Bee, and Barney had on Opie in the many situations he encountered? At home and at school your child was guided that same way in developing his character to help him learn the difference between right and wrong by helping him to focus on his actions, and how to interact with others. So, I ask what has happened to the character of our youth today?

Today’s pop culture spotlights self-destruction, negative role models, glorifies celebrity and the accumulation of wealth at all costs. All you have to do is just look at the results by picking up a newspaper or turning on your TV: escalating violence in schools, antisocial behavior, and the abrasive language of public dialogue. We all know about the three R's in education, but what’s happened to our three C’s:  courtesy, compassion, and common sense?

Teaching children to make smart choices will help them to become compassionate and loyal individuals, and can greatly reduce future problems they may develop or encounter. I believe good character can sweep potential minefields by imparting the building blocks of successful emotional growth of respect, responsibility, kindness, integrity, honesty, empathy, and leadership. If your child grows up to be a doctor but is greedy and uncaring, that advanced degree counts for very little, for we all would have failed miserably in nurturing a true human being.

I believe we should raise emotionally balanced, socially compassionate, and caring individuals with a solid value system. Remember the The Andy Griffith Show?  Now those were good solid values being taught there. Those shows made use of real life situations that society imposes on us to make impulsive decisions with bad repercussions. In fact, I remember one language arts teacher who taught an afterschool character education program using episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. I remembered those few kids and that one teacher was all our school needed to raise our character IQ. The school atmosphere gradually changed for the better; more smiles on everyone’s faces, less tension in the school building, and just an overall feeling of being accepted by everyone. Our emotional IQ was reaching new heights! 

We love our children and we care about their futures. We want to equip them with the tools to tackle life with gusto. This is a shared responsibility and we have to continue to inspire self-initiated action (e.g., the ability to say a heartfelt “No,” rather than mouthing off), promoted by healthy self–esteem, self-awareness, and personal accountability.  In order to meet the growing demands of our culture, we have to go beyond teaching basic academic skills and equip our teens to live peacefully in an age of exploding knowledge. Let’s continue to do our unsung part in developing and maintaining good character in our teens and ourselves. 

A true story to ponder:  I found a crumpled dollar bill on the cafeteria floor last Friday and asked people at the nearby tables if it was their money. Not one claimed it was theirs and so I without a second thought I took it to the cashier. I told the cashier I had found this money on the floor and no one around the tables had taken claim to it. The cashier excitedly exclaimed, “It’s yours! Just keep it.” Well my Opie Taylor instinct told me, no, I couldn't keep it for any reason and I just would not feel right keeping the money. So, I just handed it over to the cashier and left with a  “good feeling” on Friday the 13th.  Now, I ask you: “What do you think the cashier will do with the lost money?”

by Cassie Nash
Child Life Specialist

A while back I wrote about what I was learning in the book I was reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. Well, I am still intermittently reading it and thought I would give you some updates on what else I was learning.  

One chapter is all about communication.  In the Bible, in Deuteronomy chapter 6, it talks about communicating with your children while talking, sitting, walking, lying down, and when you rise! That's a lot of opportunities for communication. I want to encourage you to not have all of your times of communication with your children when something is wrong. Tripp says, "A regular habit of talking together prepares the way for talking in strained situations. You will never have the hearts of your children if you talk with them only when something has gone wrong." This is crucial if/when hospitalization time comes. 

As a child life specialist, part of my job is not only to help prepare patients and families for tests and procedures, but to help them get through those tests and procedures. It is absolutely wonderful when patients have relationships with their caregivers so that when the time comes to have an IV placed or to have a lumbar puncture we are all there to help and love on the child. 

Children need to know that their caregivers love them, and children need to trust their caregivers. I think that love and trust can be established with communication and lots of it! Tripp also says, "You undertake the shepherding process through rich and multifaceted communication." I have noticed that when it comes time to do a procedure, the patients and families that have a lifestyle of having "shepherding" communication tend to do better. So talk with your children and talk with them often!

by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

On December 18, 2011, we celebrated the blog’s second birthday. It’s hard to believe, but More Than Medicine is has turned two years old.  On December 18, 2009, this blog launched quietly, and has been churning along ever since.  As I write this, it is our 324th post and we’re still going strong. If there’s a topic you’d like to see us cover over the next year, leave us a comment and we’ll work it in.

Now, how will we be celebrating our second (and belated) birthday?  I imagine it’ll be just like a normal two-year-old’s birthday.  We’ll invite family and friends over and cook out.  In the end, we’ll probably get tired and need to take a nap or else have a meltdown.

Oh, and if we were actually turning two, our developmental milestones would look like this:

• Climbing up and down stairs
• Play alongside our friends (parallel play)
• Play with more complex toys
• Have emotional attachment to specific objects or toys
• Speak with two phrases
• Name several body parts
• About half of our speech is understandable

Yep, that sounds about right for us…

Thank you to all of our readers for sticking with us throughout our two years.  We've had a lot of growth, and really hit our stride. We’re looking forward to everything that this next year will bring for More Than Medicine.

by Cassie Nash
Child Life Specialist

Here at Le Bonheur, we love to ask questions! Not only to provide adequate medical care, but adequate psychosocial care. One of our favorite questionnaires is  called, "All About Me".  I had a very sweet time getting to know Kayla and her mom as they told me "all about" themselves!

My name is: Kayla Dawn Lutz.

I really liked to be called: Kayla.

My birthday is: March 3.

The people I live with are: My mom, dad, and sister Alicia. 

I am in the 8th grade.

What I do best is: I am a good student, and I am responsible.

My favorite sport to play is: Soccer.

My favorite games are: Just Dance, Yatzee, and Dominoes.

My favorite activity is: Reading. 

My favorite movie is: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Famous people I like are: The Twilight Characters, Ashley Green, and Keelan Lutz… I wonder if I am related to him somehow!!!!!

My favorite colors are: Blue and purple.

My favorite pets are: My cat "Hershey".  She scratches everyone but me! :)

Something I hope to do one day is: Become a nurse.

Things that make me happy are: Family.

Things that I do not like are: Green vegetables and having to clean my room.

This is my 8th time in the hospital, but first time at Le Bonheur.

I am here because:  I am throwing up and have stomach pain. 

What's really special about me (medical or non-medical) is: The ability to think things through before I do them.

If I could have any super hero's power, it would be: Invisibility and being able to read minds.

My  hidden talents are: I can sing!

If I could have any job for one day, it would be:  A surgeon.

The best part of being in the hospital is: The caring staff. From the Family Resource Center lady to the chaplains, they have all taken extra steps to take care of me.

What helps me when I am in the hospital is: My mom.

When I asked Kayla and her mom if there was anything else they wanted to tell our readers, they said, "We feel very blessed to be here. We feel like they are going to find out what is wrong. We are going to get better here!" 

by Cassie Nash
Child Life Specialist

I love to cook, and I love my husband and nephews. It was so much fun the other night when these lovely things all combined. My sister and her husband went out of town, so my husband and I went from having no kids to two kids! Dinner time rolled around, and it was time to eat. It took all four of us to get a little meal prepared, and we had a blast. Let's just say we got a lot done. We cooked, did some exercise, and got lots of giggles at what all ended up in the sink! (See pictures :) This little adventure in the kitchen taught me a lot, so I thought I would share. 

1. Let the child in your life be involved in the preparation. The meal might get a bit random, but as long as the meal is somewhat balanced and nutritious, be flexible and welcome creativity within reason. You probably won't see pizza with a side black eyed peas on a restaurant's menu, but this is a great opportunity for your child to learn how to make choices.  At Le Bonheur we love to give our patients and families choices when we can. For example, it's not a choice about whether or not the patient takes their medicine, but they may choose whether they swallow it with grape or apple juice. 

2. BE CAREFUL. You must clearly communicate if a pot is going to be hot, or about a knife that might be sharp. When it came time to stir the black eyed peas, I told my nephew he could pick out the spoon with which I stirred, but I had to do the stirring. The water was boiling, and I didn't want him to get burned. I certainly didn't want him to become one of my patients! I love him and all, but certainly want to keep our time together away from the hospital! 

3. Don't forget to have fun (I cracked up laughing when my husband had put both of the boys in the sink) and incorporate life lessons (just like your muscles need food to help you grow strong, your muscles need exercise like chin ups on the chin up bar to also grow strong!)

The meal turned out great, and we had some sweet family time together at the dinner table. If you happen to find yourself at Le Bonheur (as a patient or visiting a loved one) around dinner time, please feel free to enjoy dinner together as a family. We have family rooms, equipped  with tables, chairs, refrigerators, and microwaves, on every unit and even the family resource center is a great spot to make the hospital feel a bit more like home.

by Stephanie Kellough
Child Life Activity Coordinator

The Creative Arts Room is a space where our patients and families can leave their worries at the door and be as creative as they want.  Our Creative Arts Room is located on the 9th floor and is open to all patients and their family members each and every day.  Each day a Child Life Activity Coordinator or Volunteer lead the patients and families in a creative activity. These activities can range anywhere from painting an x-ray to building a birdhouse to making a get well banner for their loved ones.  

The Creative Arts Room is also utilized by our Child Life Specialists.  They use this room for all sorts of special projects.  Whether they need to make a birthday banner to help a child celebrate their birthday in the hospital or help a child with their fears of medical equipment by using medical supplies as an art medium.  Child Life Specialists also spend time in this room working on projects that are unique to their patient population. 

Our Creative Arts Room as well as our other programmatic areas, is considered a “safe area”.  By being deemed a “safe area”, no medical procedures, medical speech, or medical exams can take place in this room.  Since our patients and families have to deal with these occurrences throughout the day, we want to provide a place for them to leave those cares at the door.  

If you would like to donate any art items to our Creative Arts Room, please schedule a donation drop-off by calling 901-287-6021.  We accept all new and unused art supplies, such as crayons, art kits, coloring pencils, scissors, glue, etc.