A Cure for the Boring Band-Aid

I did a little, unofficial, survey not too long ago to see what stuck out in a children's memories when they were asked about getting a shot. And much like I had assumed the #1 thing they remembered was, not how much it hurt, but what kind of band-aid they received afterwards. 

I would ask, "Have you ever had a shot before?" 

And the responses I would get resembled ones like the one a got from a 4 year old little boy who said, "Yeah, and I got a Scooby-Doo band-aid!" 

Not, "Yeah, and it hurt really bad!" or "It was the worst thing in the whole-wide-world!"

So this got me thinking...

Since distraction is one of the number one things child life specialists provide during procedural situations, the "special" band-aids could help in a variety of ways.

By making a book filled with various band-aid designs a child life specialist would not only be able to use it as a distraction for their eyes during their procedure, but it would also give the child something to look forward to when it was all over. It will also give them an opportunity to make a decision, which is another really important thing for children to be able to do in situations where they feel they have no control. This gives them the ability to exercise their sense of mastery as well as their self-expression. 

The Band-Aid Book can be created using whatever you can find, but this is what I used for mine!

To make it even more unique, come up with your own title and catchy tag line! 

Mine is a little cheesy :) 

The craft is super easy to do and will be such a handy distraction item to carry around from unit to unit!