I want to let you know about a fantastic charity we have been in contact with at Funky Giraffe and you will see quite a bit in the future on our Facebook pages.
I first met a Giggle Doctor at one of the London Baby shows and I was struck by how warm and funny these kind hearted people are. They are dressed in white coats but with a difference! Festooned with funny items, multi coloured hats, stickers, bow ties, odd socks and general bling these doctors cant be missed!
These fantastic giggle doctors are named things like Dr Tickle, Dr I Spy and Dr Bananas and they are made up of magicians, actors, entertainers and musicians. They have a fantastic medicine that they administer, the medicine of laughter!
I am grateful that so far my children have never have long stints in hospital but I know from when they have been in briefly that it can look a scary place, even the childrens wards because it is unfamiliar. When my children have had their vaccinations they have screamed and cried and become even more scared of doctors so my heart really does ache for the parents and children who are in hospital regularly for scary and painful procedures. This is where the giggle doctors come in. The dont take away the pain but they do offer a brilliant distraction by playing games, telling jokes, doing magic tricks and just being tirelessly funny and happy. They can play peekaboo for hours with tiny babies, they can produce an array of funny things from their pockets and some of them might even steal your nose!
This is what one parent wrote about their experience with a giggle doctor
We first met the Giggle Doctors about 2 weeks after my six year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Up to that point she cried every time someone in a uniform came near her. When the Giggle Doctors arrived all we heard was laughter and lots and lots of smiles and this has continued ever since! For this I will always be grateful to you. Keep up your good work!
The Giggle doctors are highly trained as they have to be very aware of topics such as child development, infection control, child bereavement and the impact of illness and bereavement on families. They are also trained in Intensive Interaction which is a practical approach to working with people with very severe learning difficulties, helping them to relate and communicate better with the people around them.
And they dont just make the children in hospital happier, they are aware that when you have a sick child the whole family suffers so they will include any other children in their fun and games too and this has given so many parents some relief just to watch their children be children and be silly and giggle.
Obviously all this costs money so we are very happy that we have the chance to help this charity that works so hard to put smiles on childrens faces. Just 10 will fund a visit from a giggle doctor to a child in hospital.
You can find more information about the trust here: http://uk.theodora.org/en-gb