Making the Unknown Familiar: The Vital Role of Medical Play for Kids

Medical procedures can be daunting experiences for anyone — especially for children. Hospital stays, blood tests, and surgeries often bring fear, uncertainty, and anxiety. However, a powerful, evidence-based tool exists to help children navigate these experiences with greater confidence and less fear: medical play.

Medical play uses role-playing, toys, and storytelling to help children familiarize themselves with medical environments and equipment before they face real procedures. It's a simple but incredibly effective strategy for building trust, reducing anxiety, and empowering kids.

Why Medical Play Matters

Medical play allows children to explore, rehearse, and make sense of medical experiences in a way that feels safe and within their control. Instead of the unknown being a source of fear, medical toys and games transform it into something familiar and approachable.

Research consistently highlights the benefits of medical play:

• Reduced Anxiety: A systematic review found that pretend medical play — including programs like Teddy Bear Hospital (which can be mimicked at home)—helps reduce healthcare-related anxiety in children by exposing them to medical scenarios in a playful, non-threatening way (Chambers et al., 2021).
  
  
• Improved Coping: A recent study published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (Lee et al., 2025) highlights the effectiveness of medical play in reducing preoperative anxiety and fear in children. The study found that children who participated in medical play sessions prior to surgery exhibited significantly lower levels of anxiety and fear compared to those who did not engage in such play. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating medical play into preoperative care to enhance children's coping mechanisms and overall well-being during medical procedures.
  
  
• Enhanced Understanding: Medical play can increase a child's understanding of procedures, making the experience less confusing and intimidating.

When children are given the tools to understand and express what’s happening around them, they develop emotional resilience and better coping mechanisms. This foundation can even lead to better procedural outcomes and faster recoveries.

Medical Play in Action: Tools and Techniques

There are many ways to introduce medical play at home or in healthcare settings:

• Doctor Kits: Toy sets allow children to practice using stethoscopes, thermometers, and syringes. Exploring these tools through play demystifies their use and purpose.
• Role-Playing: Setting up pretend scenarios where a child plays the role of doctor, nurse, or patient encourages them to process and rehearse medical experiences.
• Storytelling and Puppets: Using dolls, stuffed animals, or hand puppets to "perform" medical procedures can allow children to express fears or questions they might not voice otherwise.
• Virtual and Digital Tools: New technologies like virtual reality are also emerging as engaging ways to prepare kids for medical procedures, offering immersive and comforting rehearsal experiences.

Simple activities like listening to a heartbeat with a toy stethoscope or giving a teddy bear a "needle" help children feel more in control when they eventually encounter real medical environments.

Guidelines for Parents and Caregivers

If you're considering using medical play to prepare your child for an upcoming procedure, here are some practical tips:

• Introduce Realistic Tools: Allow exploration of real or realistic toy medical equipment in a non-rushed environment.
• Use Simple, Honest Explanations: Talk about medical procedures in language your child can understand.
• Let the Child Lead: Let them choose roles and scenarios during play. Follow their emotional cues.
• Normalise Feelings: If they express fear or anger during play, validate those feelings without judgement.
• Relate to Upcoming Events: If your child has an upcoming procedure, use play as a gentle way to preview what they might experience.

A Crucial Investment in Emotional Wellbeing

At its heart, medical play is about giving children back a sense of agency in a situation where they might otherwise feel powerless. It's a therapeutic approach that reduces fear, builds trust, and creates a smoother experience for children, parents, and healthcare teams alike.

By making medical tools and procedures a familiar part of their play world, we help children face real medical experiences with courage, understanding, and resilience.

Because every child deserves to walk into a hospital not just with bravery — but with the confidence that comes from knowing what to expect.

References (APA 7th edition)

Chambers, L. T., Jensen, M. P., Loewen, K., & Finley, G. A. (2021). Medical play and procedural anxiety: A systematic review. BMJ Open, 11(9), e041506. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041506

Lee, H., Kim, S., & Choi, Y. (2025). The effects of medical play on preoperative anxiety and fear in children undergoing surgery. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 68, 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2025.02.016

Written by Sarah Duncanson

Sarah Duncanson is an experienced Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse with over 17 years of frontline expertise. She has spent much of her career at The Royal Children’s Hospital, caring for some of Australia’s sickest and most critically injured children. Sarah is also the co-founder of PAEDS Education, an organisation committed to empowering families and communities through evidence-based healthcare education and practical first aid training.