Cutting It Short : Today, hospitals stress stress-free stays for kids. Recovery time is less and patients are happier.

Few things in life are as stressful for parents as putting children in the hospital, whether it’s for routine outpatient surgery or treatment for a major illness.

Only a generation ago, parents had to leave their children practically at the door while medical staff took control of the situation. But times have changed.

Today a growing number of hospitals are seeking to make a child’s stay as stress-free as possible. Many hospitals offer tours to prospective patients to help ease their fears. They also allow parents to stay overnight and encourage visits from siblings and friends.

“We have recognized that families really are the central people in the lives of children,” says physician and medical ethicist Dr. Cindy Rushton, president-elect of the American Assn. for the Care of Children’s Health. “We have to rethink all the ways that we structure the hospital environment, from not seeing families as visitors but as part of the health-care team to involving family members and children in decisions about care.”

Research has shown that preparing a child for a hospital stay can sometimes lower the amount of general anesthesia needed, can decrease behavioral problems at the hospital and at home, and can cut recovery time.