How to Prepare for Your Child's Admission
The College Hill Campus residential treatment program team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center offers some tips and information on how to prepare for your child's admission.
What to Bring
- At least 5 sets of clothing -- The clothing should be appropriate and also be able to be worn outside and for activities.
- Pajamas
- Insurance card
- All home prescriptions that the child is currently taking. This gives us the time that we need get the prescriptions filled through the outpatient pharmacy that we use.
- Immunization records and the IEP for school if these documents have not been submitted earlier.
- Your child may bring personal toiletries if they would like to. No razors are allowed.
- Your child may bring their own comforter and pillow if they would like to. This can ease the transition, especially for younger children.
- Your child can bring pictures, but please make sure they are not in frames that contain any glass.
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How to Talk to Your Child about Residential Treatment
- Always talk to your child about residential treatment before admission! Create an environment where your child can feel comfortable about asking questions and getting the information that they want in order to ease the transition and make him or her more open to treatment after admission.
- Approach residential as what it is -- treatment! It is not punishment or abandonment. Explain to your child that he or she needs treatment that is not available within the home or other treatment methods have not worked for them. You, as the parent, have the responsibility to get your child the treatment needed and to find the best program to meet your child's needs. Approach residential treatment as an opportunity to find answers and healing.
- Encourage your child to be as involved as possible. Encourage your child to ask questions, find out more about the program and help decide what goals and expectations he or she has for treatment. Tours can be arranged for you and your child in order to see the facility (however no specific units due to confidentiality of our clients) and ask any questions about the program, therapies and rules.
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How to Talk to Your Friends and Family about Your Child's Residential Treatment
- Again, approach residential treatment as treatment! Your family needs to understand that your child is requiring more intensive treatment that cannot be managed within the home. Your child's illness is not improving and you, as the parent, are responsible for getting the child the help that he or she needs.
- Family and community support is essential to a child's success! Your family will be able to continue to visit your child, with your permission, here at Cincinnati Children's. Your child needs as much support and love as possible, especially during treatment. The staff can discuss the specifics about our visitation policy, but assure your family and friends that visitation is encouraged at Cincinnati Children's and we value all those who are a part of your child's life.
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How to Support Your Child in Talking to Friends about Going to Residential Treatment
- Encourage your child to share only what he or she is comfortable sharing. If your child is not comfortable telling friends, than do not force them to. Your child should only give as much information as he or she is comfortable giving.
- Talk with your child ahead of time and role-play what to tell friends and how much information to give. Your child will be more comfortable and willing to talk with friends if they have already discussed exactly what they want to say and how much information to give. It can be as simple as "I won't be at school for a while because I am going to be getting some help with some problems" or more specific such as "I won't be at school for a while because I am going to Cincinnati Children's to get help for my depression. We have tried a lot of different things, but nothing seems to be working so I am going to go and stay at Cincinnati Children's in order to try to get better."
- Encourage your child to use good social skills in these conversations and model this in your role-play. Children sometimes want to tell every detail, and this may not be the best idea to tell other children who may not understand. Children can be cruel, so encourage your child to only give more specific information to close friends. Explain to your child that the other children may not understand ahead of time and role-play how to deal with questions he or she may encounter.
- Reinforce that your child will be able to see close friends while in treatment, but there will be rules that must be followed. You will set the visitation list for your child and you are welcome to include close friends of your child on the list. Friends must visit with an adult and following the rules for visitation on the unit. Children may make phone calls to those friends on his or her visitation list. Later in treatment, children may earn home visits in which he or she may visit with friends with parental permission.
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