IV Therapy in Children: How to Support Them
The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You’re sitting beside your child in a hospital room. The fluorescent lights feel too bright, the beeping machines feel too loud, and your kid is staring at a plastic tube taped to their tiny hand like it might bite. Your heart is caught in that awkward middle—wanting to be brave, but wanting to cry too. IV therapy isn’t new, but when it’s your child, it feels personal and urgent in a way you never imagined.
Seeing your child connected to an IV line can be emotionally overwhelming—not just for them, but for you. And while it’s common for families navigating everything from chronic illness to emergency visits, it never feels routine when it’s your child in the bed. So how do you help your child through something that can feel so invasive, so unfamiliar, and sometimes painful? With honesty, tools for preparation, and a strong focus on giving your child a sense of agency.
What to Say (and What Not to Say)
Telling your child “this won’t hurt at all” might feel like a kindness in the moment, but most kids know when you’re glossing over the truth. Honesty, when given in age-appropriate language, actually builds more trust.
Try saying, “This might hurt for a few seconds, but it will be over quickly, and I’ll be right here the whole time.” This balances honesty with reassurance.
Use clear, specific language when describing the procedure. For example: “The nurse is going to place a tiny straw into your vein. It helps your body get medicine or water through a little tube.” Avoid words like “poke” or “shot” unless they’re already familiar to your child. Misleading or vague terms can cause more anxiety in the long run.
Giving Kids Control, Even in Small Ways
One of the hardest parts of being in a hospital for a child is the feeling of losing control. Everything happens to them—sometimes with little warning. Offering small choices can help return a sense of agency, and that’s powerful.
Let your child choose which hand the IV goes in, if it’s an option. Let them pick a sticker afterward, or choose what music to play during the procedure. These decisions might seem small, but they send a big message: “You’re part of this. Your voice matters.”
Children often respond well to medical play that lets them take the lead. Giving them a toy IV setup to practice on a plush doll or character offers a way to understand the process without it feeling threatening.
Prepping With Play, Not Pressure
It’s always better to prepare your child ahead of time, rather than trying to explain what’s happening in the moments before the needle comes out. Medical play is one of the most effective ways to do this, particularly for younger kids or children who are new to medical procedures.
Let them unwrap gauze, try out medical tape, or press a pretend tourniquet on a toy’s arm. Role-play together—let your child be the nurse and you be the patient, or use a doll that’s “nervous” about getting an IV and work through the emotions together.
These moments aren’t just fun—they’re therapeutic. They give kids a way to map out what’s coming in a space that feels safe, imaginative, and fully in their control.
At The Butterfly Pig, our IV kits include tubing, connectors, and accessories that mirror what your child will see in the hospital. They’re designed to fit securely into a plush companion’s arm, helping children understand how IVs work without having to be the patient.
Comforting Without Distracting
Distraction is a common approach to procedures, but it isn’t always the right one. Some kids want to know what’s happening. Others want to be fully immersed in something else. What matters most is giving them the option.
Instead of saying “Don’t look,” try asking, “Do you want to watch or look away?” Give them the option to hold your hand, squeeze a toy, or wear headphones. Their coping style may change from one appointment to the next—and that’s okay.
Comfort tools work best when they are personalized. That might mean bringing a familiar blanket, playing a favorite song, or doing a breathing exercise together. Some children respond well to sensory toys or calming scents.
These tools don’t make the IV painless—but they help your child feel less alone, less surprised, and more capable of facing what’s happening.
Supporting Kids After the IV
Once the IV is in, or even after it’s removed, your child might seem okay on the outside—but still have strong feelings under the surface. Some children express those feelings immediately. Others might hold them in and then release them hours or days later.
Take time afterward to talk about the experience. Use clear language: “That looked really hard, and I saw how still you stayed,” or “It’s okay to feel upset about it—I felt nervous, too.”
You can also support emotional processing through post-play. Let your child act out the procedure at home. This time, they might choose to be the nurse. Or they might want to be the scared patient again—this time knowing they’ll get through it.
Repetition builds familiarity. Familiarity builds resilience.
When Things Don’t Go Smoothly
Not every IV goes in on the first try. Some children panic. Some resist. Some scream or try to flee. None of this means they’re being difficult. It means their body and brain are responding to fear and pain the only way they know how.
If your child has ongoing medical needs that require regular IVs, talk to your care team about supports such as numbing creams, child life specialists, and sensory-friendly strategies. You can also build a comfort plan together that includes language your child finds reassuring.
It’s not about expecting them to be perfect—it’s about helping them feel prepared and seen.
Why Familiarity Matters
Familiarity reduces fear. That’s why play-based tools matter so much. When children have the chance to interact with realistic, inclusive toys that mirror their care, they build confidence.
Medical play shifts the narrative from “something being done to me” to “something I understand and can participate in.” That’s an enormous emotional shift.
At The Butterfly Pig, we design our IV kits to do just that. They include soft tubing and accessories made for pretend play, but with enough realism to build trust. Our goal is not to minimize the difficulty of medical care—it’s to make that care feel less overwhelming.
IVs Are Hard—And That’s Okay
The goal isn’t to make IV therapy easy. It often isn’t. Even with preparation and play, your child might still cry. They might still be scared. That’s normal.
What you can do is give them tools—language, choice, and play—that make them feel less helpless. You can be their steady presence, their emotional anchor. And you can help them build the skills to navigate future appointments with a little more calm, a little more confidence, and a lot more self-understanding.
Helping Kids Feel Brave (Not Just Calm)
Bravery isn’t the absence of fear—it’s facing fear with support. It’s holding your parent’s hand, saying “I’m scared,” and doing it anyway. That’s what we want kids to learn: that feeling nervous is okay. That their emotions are valid. And that there are ways to cope.
Medical play can help reframe scary experiences into manageable ones. It lets children take charge in a space where they’re used to feeling powerless. That empowerment carries over—into the next appointment, the next test, and the next moment of uncertainty.
Building Resilience, One Procedure at a Time
IV therapy will likely never be your child’s favorite part of medical care. But it doesn’t have to be the scariest, either. With the right preparation, tools, and emotional support, it can become something your child knows how to handle.
You’re doing more than getting through a procedure. You’re helping your child build emotional resilience. You’re teaching them that they can face hard things with honesty, with support, and with their voice at the center of their care.