6/24/2020
Echo Savage, Medical Writer
We recently started talking to a new audience—kids. As a health content writer, moving from the adult table to sit at the kids’ table for a little while has reminded me of something grownups might sometimes forget: kids are way more fun to talk to.
But sitting at the kids’ table as an adult can also be a challenge. You need to use kid-friendly language, anticipate objections, and be sure your bodily humor game is strong. And if you want to be invited back, you have to try really, really hard to remember how it feels to be small. You have to empathize.
Do you remember when you were told exactly when and how to put on your shoes? Can you still access the big, prickly fear from when your 4-year-old self was convinced that deer only looked nice but were really hunting people? How about the ache of dread in the pit of your stomach that wouldn’t let go until after the booster shot was finished?
A key part of writing health content for kids is trying to see an experience from their height. Things we wouldn’t think twice about as adults might startle, confuse, or frighten a child. For example, adults know that people in medical offices wear masks. We also know why they do it. The context of our past experiences means not only is it unsurprising when we see it, but that it would be surprising if we didn’t see it. What if you’re a 3-year-old going to the dentist for the first time? One minute, the dentist is smiling at you. The next minute, half her face is missing and there’s a fabric blob where her mouth should be. That’s bizarre at minimum, terrifying at max.
In writing this new content for kids, we’ve had to strike a special sort of balance to:
To make it even more of a challenge, all of this must happen in around 500 words or less at a second-grade reading level or below.
Luckily, there are lots of helping hands in the process of creating each piece. I’ve also learned a few things along the way that have shaped the work we’ve done already and that will guide our approach moving forward.
To date, Healthwise has released six children’s stories. We’ve covered topics like visiting the dentist, staying in the hospital overnight, and learning about coronavirus. We have three new stories currently in development and seven more coming down the pipeline. The feedback we’ve gotten has been excellent—we even won a Gold Award from the HIRC for our story “Charlie Learns About Coronavirus.”
But there’s more to learn for sure, and space for us to grow (smaller) and focus our vision (lower). I look forward to writing more stories for young patients, designed to help them feel prepared and reassured in new health care experiences.