In 2002 more than 6.6 million children 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for unintentional injuries.9 When children visit the hospital due to accidents or illness, many are scared and need something to take their minds off their pain.
Provide comfort by making an emergency room visit a little less frightening. Create a decorated box of small gifts for the doctors and nurses to give to the children. Here are some gift suggestions:
• Miniature toy horses
• Small purses filled with goodies
• Crayons and a pad of paper or coloring book
• Paper dolls
• Picture books, including a children’s Bible
• Stickers or sticker books
• Small toy tractors, cars, or airplanes
• Action figures and dolls
• Necklaces, bracelets, or a watch
• Stuffed animals for the child to snuggle
Up for Discussion
What types of gifts did your family include in their box to take to the emergency room? How did you decorate the box? What other items can you think of that might provide comfort?
Have you ever been in the emergency room? How did that make you feel? What prayer might you say for children who are taken to the hospital?
Read in John 5 about the man Jesus cured at the pool. The man had been an invalid for 38 years and wanted to be healed at a pool in Jerusalem. “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked” (vv. 8-9). How might those around the invalid have provided comfort for him prior to the moment that Jesus healed him?
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
—Matt. 19:14