The following is a basic guide to the kinds of needs and concerns a sick child will have at different ages:

0-3 YEARS

Babies and toddlers need parents with them during procedures for handholding, to allow protest, for comfort, and to play it out with them later.

4-7 YEARS

Illness and painful procedures are seen as punishment. All diseases are thought to be contagious. Procedures that hurt are not considered therapeutic. Fears of separation, mutilation, and pain are strong.

8-12 YEARS

Children feel a sense of inferiority toward their healthy peers. They can’t grasp the numerous variables in disease. Mood changes and other side effects are not understood as related to disease or treatment. Grasping the role of the different organ systems is still difficult.

13-18 YEARS

Concerns about body image, independence, and sexual identity predominate. The tendency to deny illness is strong. Adolescents need more information and a greater role in decision making.