This isn’t a cute extra. It’s essential… Let’s stop calling it fluff and start calling it what it is: trauma-informed care in action. Medical play isn’t just a feel-good initiative — it’s a clinically backed, evidence-based strategy proven to reduce anxiety, improve outcomes, and foster emotional resilience in children facing medical procedures.
But why is it not prioritized?
A 2021 review found that play-based interventions (like teddy bear clinics and hands-on exploration with toy medical tools) significantly lower healthcare-related fear and anxiety in children (Maynard et al., 2021). Another study showed that preoperative medical play led to marked decreases in patient anxiety and fear before surgery (Zhang et al., 2021). And these aren’t one-off findings. A 2020 systematic review concluded that therapeutic play can lead to reduced pain, better behavior during hospitalization, and improved overall satisfaction with care (Li et al., 2020).
So why is medical play still seen as “nice to have” instead of “need to have?”
Child Life only gets called “when there is time” or if it’s a “big enough” procedure, but those little moments — the “little” procedures — are causing big gaps in care. We’re working to change that — by making medical play more accessible through our grab-and-go kits. These kits don’t require training to use, and they’re not just one more thing dumped on nurses’ already-full plates. They’re designed to integrate into care effortlessly — empowering nurses, techs, and especially parents to participate in preparation, play, and education.
It’s time to stop looking at play as a luxury due to time or staffing. When we make it accessible, we give children agency. When we make it standard, we reduce fear. When we make it easy to use, we shift the culture of pediatric care. Let’s build a healthcare system where understanding is the norm, not the exception.
The following is an excerpt by original author Mary Jenner (RN, BSN, OCN): “As a Pediatric Oncology Nurse, I discovered something magical. While preparing a young patient for yet another scary procedure, I grabbed their beloved teddy bear and demonstrated what was about to happen. The transformation was instant – fear melted into curiosity, tears turned to questions, and suddenly we weren’t just doing a medical procedure, we were on an adventure of discovery together.
In 2020 I founded The Butterfly Pig, a medical toy company that creates exact miniature replicas of medical devices that kids can touch, examine, and use with their favorite stuffed animals. Using advanced 3D printing technology and precise CAD design, we craft everything from tiny hearing aids to mini-insulin pumps, each piece designed to make the unfamiliar familiar. Every product is born from real healthcare experiences and parent requests, ensuring they solve real needs in children’s medical journeys. While others focus on distraction, we focus on empowerment. We don’t just make medical toys – we create bridges between the clinical world of healthcare and the imaginative world of childhood.”
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