One of the best tools any parent can have in their medicine cabinet is a simple pain chart so children, even non-verbal kids, can quickly and easily communicate their pain levels to the adults caring for them. The levels in this pain chart for kids go from 0-10 – a common scale that doctors, nurses, and physical therapists everywhere use.
Click to download a free printable 0-10 pain chart for kids!
Pain Chart Must-Have
A simple pain chart is a must-have for any family with kids! Once you can understand what your child is experiencing, you can offer comfort and take steps to help your child with their pain.
I know that now, but somehow we didn’t seem to have a good pain chart handy when we recently needed one!
Earlier this year, my 9-year-old daughter suddenly began to experience ongoing debilitating pain. As a mom, there is nothing worse than watching helplessly as your child suffers, especially when it lasts days that turn into weeks and months. All I wanted to do was try to understand her pain accurately so I could communicate it to doctors and hopefully relieve her of the pain.
The Problem with Traditional Pain Charts
So, I started combing the internet in search of a kid-friendly pain chart that would help her be able to communicate to us what she was experiencing. As a 9-year-old, she was very verbal and mature, but still struggled with the right words to tell us exactly what was going on with her chronic pain. It was sudden, scary, and confusing for all of us.
The traditional 0-10 pain chart scale is often unclear to kids. The pain charts we found either used unfamiliar, adult language hard for a child to grasp or had scary or boring pictures.
A pain chart made especially for kids by a kid!
I knew we needed a good pain chart that was easy to understand and pleasant enough for kids to use.
My daughter loves to draw, so on one of her good days when the pain was manageable, I got a brilliant idea!
First, we pulled up several 0-10 pain scales and she helped me “translate” them into kid-friendly language that kids would actually say.
Then, I handed her my tablet with a stylus and asked her to draw the faces corresponding with the pain levels as she had experienced them. I was blown away by her perception and ability to communicate through art!
Finally, we put her pictures together with her words to create this one-of-a-kind pain chart made for kids by a kid who knows more than just a little about intense, chronic pain.
She personally illustrated the faces on this 0-10 pain chart and included words a kid might actually say then combined them with simple, bright, eye-catching pictures that make it easy for even non-verbal children to indicate their pain levels.
How we use the pain chart
After she created the 0-10 pain scale for kids, we hung one up in our kitchen. It helped me so much to understand what she was experiencing!
We quickly discovered during a barrage of doctors’ visits that every single medical worker from nurses, doctors, to physical therapists would ask her, “on a scale of 0 to 10, rate your pain…” Apparently, using a 0-10 pain scale is super common!
We even started bringing her own illustrated pain chart with her to visits!
How Does it Hurt? Chart
After rating her pain 0-10, the next question medical personnel would ask her inevitably would be to describe her pain. At first, she was stumped and would answer something like, “I don’t know! It just hurts! A lot”.
One individual replied, “how would you describe it if you couldn’t use the words ‘hurt’ or ‘pain’?
Which led us to creating together another little chart: the “How Does it Hurt? Chart”. (The two charts are both included in the free printable download).
Once again, she helped translate adult words into kid-friendly language that kids might actually say to show HOW their bodies are hurting.
Having words to describe her pain made all the difference in her frustration levels with doctors and empowered her to be able to communicate with confidence about what she was experiencing.
Post it up!
These days, we keep her little pain chart posted at all times in our kitchen so my daughter can communicate quickly and efficiently exactly how her pain feels and what pain level she is on.
We printed both charts and slipped them into a page protector – the 0-10 Pain Scale Chart for kids on one side and the “How Does it Hurt ?” chart on the other.
When her pain is intense and she can no longer concentrate or think, it makes communication easier and more effective.
Grab a copy now!
Every parent needs a copy of this bright, kid-friendly pain chart to add to their tool kit for the inevitable minor accidents that are sure to occur! The free download includes both the 0-10 pain scale chart and the “How Does it Hurt?” chart, too.
It’s also a great tool for kids who suffer with chronic pain as well as helpful to nurses, doctors, and physical therapists.
I hope it is a blessing to the children in your life!
Grab your completely FREE pain chart for kids over at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
