← All bedtime stories · Social stories
Social Story for a Hospital Stay
A hospital stay social story tells a child what a hospital is like before they arrive, so the strange things are already familiar: the bracelet with their name on it, the bed with buttons, the machine that beeps, and the people who come in at night to check on them. It describes the parts that are much the same on most children’s wards, and leaves the medical parts to the people looking after your child.
It also keeps the one promise a story can honestly make: that someone will tell them what is going to happen before it happens. Read it in the days before a planned stay, or on the first night there. Free to read aloud, or make one with your child as the hero, by name.
Priya and the Bed With Buttons
A free story to read aloud tonight
The first thing they gave Priya at the hospital was a bracelet. It was white and soft and had her name printed on it, and her birthday, so that everybody would always know exactly who she was, even people she had never met.
Her bed had buttons on the side. One made the top half go up, slowly, with a hum, and one made it go down again, and a nurse called Femi showed her which was which and then let her do it three times, which was allowed.
Next to the bed was a machine with numbers on it that beeped sometimes. “That’s it telling me how you’re doing,” said Femi, “so I don’t have to wake you up to ask.” When he checked her temperature it was over in a second. When he checked her blood pressure, a band went round her arm and hugged it tight, and then let go.
Before anything happened, somebody told her first. That was the rule, and everybody kept it. “I’m going to look at your tummy now,” said the doctor, and waited, and then did. Some things were a little bit sore and some were just strange, and Priya held Mum’s hand for those, and squeezed it as hard as she liked.
At night the hospital never went fully dark. A small light stayed on by the door, the corridor hummed, and sometimes footsteps went past softly. Once, Femi came in very quietly to look at the machine. Mum slept in the big chair that turned into a bed, close enough to touch.
Priya pressed the button that made the bed go down, slowly, with a hum, and lay there with her bracelet on and her own blanket from home on top of the hospital one. She listened to the machine quietly telling Femi how she was doing, so nobody had to wake her up to ask, and she went to sleep.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
How do I prepare my child for a hospital stay?
Tell them the truth in small pieces, close to the time: where they are going, roughly how long, who will be with them, and what they can bring from home. Many children’s hospitals have child life specialists or play teams, and some offer tours or picture guides before a planned stay, so it is worth asking. For anything about the treatment itself, your child’s doctors and nurses are the right people to explain it.
Can I stay with my child in hospital?
Many children’s wards let a parent or carer stay overnight, often on a fold-out chair or bed beside the child, but policies vary by hospital and by ward. Ask before the stay, so you can tell your child exactly what will happen at night, which is often the part they worry about most.
What should I pack for my child?
The things parents mention most: their own pyjamas, a comfort toy and blanket, a favourite book, something to do with their hands, and a phone charger with a long cable for you. The hospital can tell you what is allowed on their ward.