At the Theodora Children's Charity we help children living with illness, disability and serious health challenges to feel better using the proven power of laughter. Our vision is to contribute to the wellbeing of children in the 21 hospitals, 3 hospices and 2 specialist care centres we visit across England. We do this by providing visits from professional performers who have been trained to work in a medical environment called Giggle Doctors who combine music, play, magic and storytelling.
A stay in a hospital or a hospice can be difficult. For a child and their family it can be an anxious time full of worry, uncertainty, and in some cases boredom. Long stays can also present additional problems; disrupting friendship opportunities, play and schooling
The Giggle Doctors visit over 30,000 children in 21 hospitals, 3 hospices and 2 specialist care centres throughout the UK. They visit children of all ages, to give as much comfort as they can at a time when the children, and indeed their parents, may be confused by the surroundings and frightened by what's happening to them. A combination of play, magic, music and fun can go a long way in proving that "laughter is the best medicine".
The Giggle Doctors will provide a valuable service to children at an anxious time in their lives. An evaluation of our work, conducted by a Professor of children's nursing, has shown that the Giggle Doctors fulfil an important role in alleviating the stresses experienced by sick children during hospitalisation.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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