Hospital for Children

How to Help

Medical Play Dolls

The process of creating and personalizing a blank, stuffed, body-shaped doll can provide children with a pleasurable and expressive activity which can be used by the child life team in many ways. Children decorate the dolls with non-toxic permanent markers. The dolls become a part of the treatment process and children take them home with them when they are discharged.

Child life specialists use the dolls to:

Help develop rapport with children and help them relax in a hospital environment
Help assess the child's perception and feelings about healthcare experiences - talking about the doll is a non-threatening way to explore the child's own concerns
Help children prepare for and cope with their treatment process - the doll can be used to show such things as where an injection will be given or what posture/body position is desired
Provide comfort items for children

Directions:

A variety of skin tones are needed (tan, brown, white). Muslin comes in these colors or can be dyed with tea or coffee.
Cut 2 pieces for each doll (Web site pattern will need to be enlarged to fit 12 X 17 inch tracing paper).
Be sure to clip all curves around the doll
Machine stitch around the doll with a ¼" seam allowance leaving an opening for stuffing
Turn the fabric inside out and stuff firmly with polyester fiberfill
Whip stitch the opening closed
If you have any questions, please call the Child Life Department at 410-328-7440. Thank you for thinking of the children and families at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children.

On Pattern:
___________	Tracing & cutting line
---------------	Stitching line ¼" seam
VVVVVVVVVV	Clip corners
=============	Leave open to turn & stuff & then hand sew closed

Sewing Pattern:

Supplies:

12" * 17" piece of tracing paper (for your pattern) & a pencil
1/3 yard of 36" or 45" woven cotton or poly/cotton in a skin tones

We need a VARIETY of beige, tan and brown tones. Tea dying and using brown and tan shades of Rit-type dye is fine. Choose even (not mottled) colors that look like healthy skin tones. The color should be light enough that permanent fabric markers will show on it.

Sewing thread to match fabric
Polyester stuffing

This information is extracted from an article entitled "The Use of Stuffed, Body-Outline Dolls with Hospitalized Children and Adolescents" by Laura Gaynard, Joy Goldberger, & Lesley Laidley, Children's Health Care, 20(4), p.216-223.

This page was last updated on: March 13, 2008.

For more information about UMHC or to make an appointment, please call
1-800-492-5538 (patients) or 1-800-373-4111 (physicians).