The research

Kids want to know what's about to happen to them.

Prepare Little Patients isn't the first to notice this — it's backed by peer-reviewed research. Here's what the literature says about what kids want, and what actually helps.

Anesthesia & Analgesia · 2009

The vast majority of children preferred to have comprehensive information concerning their surgery.

Fortier et al. · 143 children, ages 7–17 Read the study
Health Education Research · 2014

Children who received educational materials were significantly less worried about surgery and hospital procedures than children in the comparison and control groups.

Fernandes et al. · 125 children, ages 8–12 Read the study
BMC Pediatrics · 2022

Home-reading an animated picture book before surgery could effectively reduce the preoperative anxiety level.

Yang et al. · 116 children, ages 3–6 Read the study

These are independent, peer-reviewed studies — Prepare Little Patients is not affiliated with their authors or institutions, and citing them isn't an endorsement of our organization by these researchers.