The Meg Foundation: Pain Management Resources
A Resource for Families of Children with chILD
Medical procedures can be scary for children. Blood draws, IV lines, bronchoscopies, and frequent clinic visits are part of life with chILD.
The Meg Foundation offers FREE, science-based resources to help children and families manage procedure pain, long-term pain, and medical fear.
The Meg Foundation is a nonprofit focused on teaching families and healthcare providers how to manage pain in children. All resources are free. They focus on three areas:
SuperMeg Poke Plan — An interactive tool that helps your child make a personal plan for dealing with needle procedures. Your child decides things like: what position they want to be in, what they want to focus on, and what they want the medical team to know.
Comfort Ability Program — Workshops (in person or online) that teach children and parents how to cope with ongoing symptoms. Available at children’s hospitals across North America and Australia.
Chronic pain family guides — Free, downloadable sheets on sleep, school, daily activities, and talking to friends about pain.
Resources in Spanish — Many tools are available in Spanish.
A Note for Families: Children with chILD often go through many procedures throughout childhood. Helping your child learn coping skills early can make a real difference over time. You can also ask your child’s care team to use better pain management during procedures — advocating for your child works.
Acute pain — Pain that comes on suddenly because of a procedure, surgery, or injury. For children with chILD, this can include pain after a lung biopsy or bronchoscopy.
Chronic pain — Pain that lasts more than three months, often tied to an ongoing condition.
Comfort Ability Program — A pain coping skills program from the Meg Foundation and Boston Children’s Hospital. Workshops teach children and parents practical ways to manage chronic pain and medical fear.
Coping skills — Strategies that help a person manage stress, pain, or fear. For children facing medical procedures, these include breathing techniques, distraction, and making a personal plan.
Medical anxiety — Fear or worry specifically about medical settings, procedures, or illness. Common in children who go through frequent procedures.
Procedural pain — Pain caused by a specific medical procedure, like a needle stick, IV placement, or biopsy. Good preparation and comfort measures can greatly reduce procedural pain.
SuperMeg Poke Plan — A free, child-friendly tool from the Meg Foundation that helps children make a personalized plan for needle procedures.
This information is for educational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for the medical advice of your child’s healthcare provider.
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The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
