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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsChild-friendly healthcare design starts by recognizing that a child in a clinic or hospital is not always the patient. A child may accompany a parent or grandparent to an adult diagnostic visit, or visit a hospitalized parent. The room must therefore support the adult’s treatment and recovery while giving the child a safe, purposeful place to be. The five-goal framework developed in Stantec’s article for Building Design + Construction—engagement, family control, safety, therapeutic quality and multifunctionality—provides a practical brief for inpatient rooms, outpatient areas and family zones.
Why children need to be planned for in adult healthcare settings
Healthcare interiors are commonly organized around the person receiving care. That assumption breaks down when a child arrives with an adult or visits a parent in hospital. The child still has physical, sensory and emotional needs, while the adult patient needs rest, privacy and a setting that supports treatment. A caregiver may also need to supervise the child while speaking with clinicians, completing paperwork or working remotely.
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Stantec’s article, “Creating child-friendly healthcare spaces: Five goals for success,” published by Building Design + Construction on October 25, 2017, presents this as a design challenge rather than a product checklist. Its examples come from Jingfen Guo’s Interior Design Educators Council competition thesis, advised by Professor Jihyun Song at Iowa State University. The thesis proposed a convertible patient room that could accommodate children while a parent was hospitalized; the article then extends the ideas to inpatient and outpatient settings.
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The framework is useful because it links child accommodation to adult care instead of treating a children’s corner as an add-on. It does not establish code requirements, clinical outcome measurements, costs or comparative product performance. Any built project still needs review by the facility’s infection-prevention, safety, accessibility and regulatory teams.
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The five goals for a cohesive child-friendly space
| Goal | Design question | Examples described by Stantec |
|---|---|---|
| Engage the child | What can the child do while remaining near the adult? | Family zone with an enlarged magnetic whiteboard; sensory corner with plants to smell, touch and care for where permitted |
| Give the family control | Which aspects of the room can occupants adjust or personalize? | Controls for temperature and lighting, adaptable furniture, flexible storage for a backpack or toy |
| Provide a safe environment | How can the room reduce collisions, slips and other avoidable hazards? | Fewer sharp corners, slip-resistant rubber flooring that can attenuate sound, adjustable ergonomic furniture |
| Create a therapeutic environment | How can the room remain restorative for the patient? | Natural materials, soothing colors, adjustable natural light and acoustic panels; plant life only where infection-control measures allow |
| Make the room serve multiple functions | How can limited floor area support both adult and child activities? | Family couch with charging, fold-out table and lamp for reading or drawing |
1. Engage the child without disrupting care
Engagement means offering an activity that is purposeful, visible to the supervising adult and compatible with clinical work. A child who has nothing to do may move around the room, interrupt conversations or become distressed. A family zone can create a defined place for drawing or quiet play while keeping the child connected to the parent.
The article’s enlarged magnetic whiteboard is a simple example. Its value is not a particular brand or size; it is the combination of a clear activity surface and a location that belongs to the family zone. In a real facility, the board’s mounting, cleanability, hardware and placement would need review. A surface should not obstruct equipment, egress or staff movement, and supplies should be managed so loose pieces do not become hazards.
A sensory corner offers a different kind of engagement. Children or parents can smell, touch and care for plant life, making the space feel less clinical. Plants are not automatically suitable for every care area, however. The facility must determine whether soil, moisture, allergens and maintenance practices are compatible with its infection-control policy. Where living plants are not permitted, the same design intention—safe sensory variety—can be pursued through approved, cleanable materials selected by the care team.
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Hospitalization can make families feel that every decision is being made for them. Small, bounded choices restore agency without interfering with treatment. Stantec identifies temperature and lighting controls, adaptable furniture and flexible storage as ways to provide that agency.
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Controls should be understandable and located where the adult patient or caregiver can reach them without entering a staff-only zone. Lighting may need separate levels for rest, conversation, reading and drawing. Temperature adjustments should remain within the facility’s operating limits; the design goal is occupant control where feasible, not unrestricted settings.
Furniture can also provide control. A chair or table that can be repositioned lets a caregiver choose whether to sit beside the bed, face the child or create a small work surface. Storage is another high-value intervention. A dedicated place for a backpack or toy keeps personal items off clinical surfaces and helps a child recognize that the room includes them. Storage should be easy to clean, stable when loaded and positioned so it does not narrow circulation.
3. Provide a safe environment
Safety has to address both ordinary childhood movement and the special risks of a healthcare room. Children may run, turn quickly, reach for unfamiliar equipment or sit on furniture in unexpected ways. At the same time, the adult patient may be weak, attached to lines or recovering from a procedure.
The article suggests minimizing sharp furniture corners, specifying slip-resistant rubber flooring that can attenuate sound and considering adjustable ergonomic furniture. These are design directions, not facility specifications. The selected flooring, edges, furniture and clearances must be checked against the project’s applicable building, fire, accessibility, environmental and infection-control requirements.
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Sound attenuation matters because a quieter surface can reduce the impact of footsteps and dropped objects, but acoustic treatment cannot compromise cleanability or staff observation. Furniture should remain stable when a child leans on it, and adjustment mechanisms should be protected from pinching or accidental movement. Keep circulation routes legible and free of bags, toys and charging cables. A child-friendly feature is successful only when it does not create a new trip, entanglement or cleaning problem.
4. Create a therapeutic environment for the adult patient
The room remains a place for healing. Child-oriented elements should be integrated into an adult patient’s therapeutic setting rather than turning the room into an overstimulating playroom. Stantec points to natural materials, soothing colors, adjustable access to natural light and acoustic panels as ways to support a calmer atmosphere.
Natural materials and restrained color choices can make a room feel less institutional, while adjustable daylight gives the patient control over glare and rest. Window treatments or controls should be selected with privacy and observation needs in mind. Acoustic panels can help minimize noise from conversations and activity; their location, surface and maintenance plan must suit healthcare use.
Plant life illustrates the balance between atmosphere and clinical requirements. It may support a sensory experience and a connection to nature, but it is appropriate only where infection-control measures allow. Do not treat a generic houseplant recommendation as approval for a patient room. The facility should decide whether plants, growing media and watering routines are acceptable in that unit.
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5. Make the room serve multiple functions
Patient rooms have limited space, so each furnishing should support more than one need when possible. The article’s example is a family couch with charging capability, a fold-out table and a lamp for reading and drawing. In one footprint, the couch provides seating, the table creates a temporary work or activity surface and the lamp supports two users with different tasks.
Multifunctionality is not the same as filling the room with transformable furniture. Mechanisms must be intuitive, cleanable and safe to operate around medical equipment. A fold-out surface should not block the bed, bathroom access or staff approach when deployed. Charging equipment should be routed so cables do not cross walking paths. The design team should map the room in its resting, treatment and family-use configurations before selecting furnishings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Applying the five goals in different healthcare settings
Convertible inpatient rooms
For a hospitalized parent, begin with the patient’s clinical workflow: bed access, equipment, staff approach, privacy and rest. Then identify a family zone that can be activated without moving essential equipment. The zone might combine the couch, fold-out table, reading light, storage and an engagement surface. A convertible plan should show what happens when the child is present and how quickly the room returns to a standard care configuration.
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In outpatient imaging, treatment or consultation areas, the child may wait for a shorter period and may not have a dedicated room. A visible, defined family area can provide engagement and storage while preserving queues, staff sightlines and patient privacy. Controls and furniture should be simple because families may use the space without a lengthy orientation.
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Waiting and transition spaces
Waiting areas can apply the same goals at a shared scale: a cleanable activity surface, flexible seating, a place for personal belongings, acoustic control and lighting that supports both calm and supervision. The design should distinguish quiet activities from movement-heavy ones so that children can engage without disturbing patients who need rest.
A practical planning process for a construction or renovation project
- Map who uses the space. List adult patients, accompanying children, caregivers, clinicians, cleaning staff and maintenance staff. Note when children are likely to be present and what supervision is possible.
- Document the clinical baseline. Draw bed, equipment, staff approach, doors, bathroom access, windows and required clearances before adding family functions. This prevents child-focused features from displacing care-critical operations.
- Assign the five goals to locations. Mark where engagement, controls, storage, safety features, therapeutic elements and multifunctional furnishings will live. If a feature has no clear location, it is not ready for specification.
- Test multiple room configurations. Show the room empty, occupied by the adult patient, occupied with a child and configured for cleaning or emergency access. Include furniture in both folded and deployed positions.
- Review safety and infection-control implications. Confirm flooring, wall surfaces, furniture edges, fabrics, plants, whiteboards, hardware and charging equipment with the relevant facility teams. The five goals do not replace local code or clinical review.
- Specify for operation, not appearance alone. Record how each item is cleaned, repaired, adjusted, stored and replaced. A visually appealing feature that cannot be maintained will not remain child-friendly.
- Orient families and staff. Provide simple instructions for lighting, temperature, furniture adjustment, storage and activity materials. Staff should know how to reset the room between users.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Designing only for the child. Bright, busy features can undermine rest. Keep the adult patient’s therapeutic needs as the organizing priority.
- Adding a play corner without circulation planning. Define the family zone so toys, bags and furniture do not obstruct staff routes or equipment.
- Choosing household products without facility review. A consumer whiteboard, plant or upholstered chair is not automatically suitable for healthcare. Check mounting, cleanability, durability and infection-control compatibility.
- Offering controls that are too complex. If families cannot understand a control quickly, it does not provide meaningful agency. Use clear interfaces and explain the permitted range.
- Ignoring noise. Children’s activity and family conversations can disturb patients. Combine location, flooring, furniture and acoustic treatment rather than relying on a single panel or material.
- Forgetting the reset state. Every convertible feature needs a defined default position, cleaning procedure and responsible staff role.
- Treating flexibility as unlimited. Adaptable furniture still needs stable placement, safe clearances and compatibility with clinical equipment.
How to evaluate a proposed design
Because the five goals are a design framework rather than measured performance criteria, evaluation should be explicit and project-specific. Ask the team to demonstrate each goal in a drawing, mock-up or walkthrough.
- Engagement: Can a child begin a quiet activity while remaining observable to the caregiver?
- Control: Can the family adjust permitted lighting, temperature or furniture without staff assistance?
- Safety: Are edges, floors, cables, storage and moving parts appropriate for children and for a patient with limited mobility?
- Therapeutic quality: Does the room still support rest, privacy, daylight control and low noise when the child is present?
- Multifunctionality: Can the same footprint support treatment, family use and cleaning without moving essential equipment?
A walkthrough should include the people who will operate the room, not only the design team. Nurses, environmental-services staff, facilities personnel, infection-prevention specialists and family representatives can identify conflicts that a plan view misses.
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What this framework can—and cannot—establish
The five goals offer a coherent way to brief architects, interior designers, contractors and healthcare operators. They help teams plan for children who accompany adults, combine engagement with agency, connect safety with infection concerns and use limited space efficiently.
They do not provide current jurisdictional code language, a tested clinical protocol, a cost model or evidence that one product performs better than another. The Stantec article contains no quantified outcomes or named statistical findings. Use its examples—magnetic whiteboards, sensory planting, adjustable controls, slip-resistant flooring, acoustic panels and multifunctional seating—as prompts for project evaluation, then verify every specification through the facility’s own technical and clinical processes.
A successful child-friendly healthcare space is therefore not a separate playroom inserted into an adult environment. It is a coordinated room in which a child can engage safely, a family can make reasonable choices, the patient can recover and staff can deliver care without avoidable obstruction.
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