Table 2.

Practical strategies for the health care team to develop/reinforce the spirituality of the pediatric patient and his/her family

1.	Support the ill child’s and family’s established coping strategies.10
2.	Affirm hope through kindness and a purposeful, active presence.10
3.	Try to create an atmosphere conducive to social and spiritual interactions that can evolve, over time, into relationships with supportive meaning.14
4.	Assess children’s spiritual needs. When the assessment process itself is done with sensitivity, interest, and receptiveness, a line of communication between the health care practitioner and the child and his or her family opens.15
5.	School-aged children may be more self-directed in their spiritual practices. Nurses should ask if they use prayer, plan times for spiritual expression, and provide quiet time when appropriate.15
6.	Children should be allowed opportunities for expression of spirituality through art, music, or stories.15
7.	Establish with the pediatric patient a relationship that allows you to talk to him/her about what is meaningful to them.11