Caring for children in crisis with ‘comfort critters’

Dealing with children in emergency medical situations presents unique challenges and complexities for ER24 paramedics. An emergency care practitioner shares advice for treating children in trauma – and introduces her homemade “comfort critters”.

“I have a real affinity for children, and I love all my paediatric patients,” says Leslie-Anne van Zyl, an Emergency Care Practitioner at ER24 George. “Children are innocent, they are helpless, and they still have their whole lives ahead of them. When we arrive at a scene – whether it’s a road accident, an illness at home or an interfacility transfer I want them to feel understood and safe,” she explains.

“Because children can’t always communicate effectively, they need to be spoken for and protected.”

In situations where a child is injured and needs emergency medical help, ER24 teams must respond quickly while still showing care and kindness. “Establishing a connection with a child in distress can drastically influence their response to treatment,” she says. “We need to balance the urgency of medical action with the need to maintain a calming presence.”   

Effective communication

When paramedics arrive, most adults feel relief, but young children often get even more upset. Van Zyl explains that communication is essential to handling such situations well.

She says it's important to use language that is suitable for the child's age to explain what is happening and to calm their fears while also collecting important information from anxious family members. This requires a sensitive and skilled approach to make sure the child feels safe and understood during the experience.

Comfort and calm

“When I was studying, we were taught to distract a child by blowing up a balloon, but balloons aren’t very comforting – they can’t be held, squeezed or hugged.” After looking online for easy toys to make, she came up with the idea of crocheted turtles, or “comfort critters”.

“The first few I made looked scary more than comforting,” she laughs. After some additional practice, Van Zyl gave her first “comfort critter” to a young patient in April 2024 – a boy who had hurt his shoulder after jumping off a bed. “His tears immediately dried up and he calmed down, which made it easier to treat him,” she recalls. “That made me determined to keep going with my initiative.”

In her free time, Van Zyl, with some help from a retired woman, has made nearly 60 crocheted turtles, and each one has found a home. “Earlier this year, a seven-year-old girl was knocked down by a car in George. “She was clinging to me and crying, but once I gave her the turtle, she relaxed and let me put up an IV line (drip) without fighting me.”  

Another memorable patient was a five-year-old who almost drowned and was very scared and confused when ER24 first arrived. “Her lungs were struggling to oxygenate, and we needed to put on an oxygen mask. I said if she was brave, she could get her own turtle to take to hospital with her, which really helped.”

Be open and honest

The most important thing when dealing with a frightened child in pain is to establish trust, says Van Zyl. “Kids have a very strong sense of fairness, and they take everything you say to heart. It’s extremely important not to lie to them. If you say, ‘this won’t hurt’ and it does, they will lose faith in you. Rather say ‘this might hurt a bit, but you are brave, and I know you can deal with it’.”

Parents or caregivers are often shocked and traumatised too, so it’s important to make them feel comfortable handing their child over to you. “Be confident in your abilities and reassure both the child and the parent that you are doing your best for them,” she adds.