by Marci: if we bug her more, will she give us more treats? Oh wait, she left the bathroom door open: toilet paperrrrrrrr

We love our kids and when they hurt, we hurt. Of course we want to alleviate as much of their stress and anxiety as we can, especially if they are in a hospital. I knew I loved the idea of Mabel Motors being more than just giving hospitals some mini cars, because I wanted to really reinforce ways we can help our kids, but today I thought I would share an article that shows science backing me up. Research, my friends, research.

Here we have an article by Natalie Stechyson I have been waiting months to share with you “Kids Who Drive to Surgery are Less Scared, Have Less Anxiety: Study/ It reduces anxiety as much as medication.” How many kids are affected by this? “An estimated five million children undergo surgery in the U.S. every year, and up to 75 per cent of them experience fear and anxiety, according to a 2012 study. Preoperative anxiety in children is associated with negative postoperative outcomes such as increased distress, nightmares, separation anxiety, eating disorders, and bed-wetting.” (from article)

If you want to skip right to science here is the link for the study from the British Journal of Anaesthesia.

Please reach out with any questions or comments here or on our website: https://mabelmotors.org. We are super excited about our test drive at Akron Children’s Hospital on October 21. If you know any companies, organizations or individuals who you think might like to be a part of sponsoring something with Mabel Motors or allowing us to bring in a mini car for fundraising, please let us know? We haven’t officially begin fundraising, but I would be happy too include a few interested parties for our test drive and answer any questions.

We would Laos really like to hear your stories about kids in hospitals and any tips you may have.

Thanks for riding along with us – Marci & Mabel