The Best Ways to Help Parents Whose Child is in the Hospital

While we as parents might think it could be easy for others to know and understand where help is needed, oftentimes, even for us, it’s hard to ask and we all know how busy life becomes these days, even without serious illness. And others who have not been in our shoes can’t simply guess what we need. 

Since asking where to help and how to support can sometimes be the hardest part, my hope is that sharing these insights will help you to know where to start in meaningful ways. 

1. Start a Meal Train

The first month my daughter was diagnosed, she was in the hospital for a 30 days in a row. I didn’t honestly have the time to worry about sport practices, what was for dinner, and who was going to be there for the kids at night.  

I was so thankful that a friend of ours created a Meal Train for us. It was a life saver, and we had dinners almost every night for several months.  

This brought an immeasurable sense of thankfulness and ease to my heart and mind. It was one less thing to worry about and a reminder that our family was deeply cared about.  

I was able to focus on my daughter in the hospital, grieve the life I had to leave behind, and to solely focus on the life we were fighting for, my daughter’s. 

2. Offer to Help with Practice or Tasks 

The sheer reality of a long hospital stay meant abandoning the usual routines of our other children and not being home with them like they needed me to be.  

• One of the most helpful things people offered was assistance with after-school activities and transportation, which kept life running smoothly for my girls. 

• Help can also come in unique, simple ways, too. For instance, my daughter’s cheerleading coaches came to my house just to wrap Ashton's birthday gifts because I needed to stay at the hospital with her.  

• This simple, thoughtful action helped me feel so loved; it showed me they cared deeply for Ashton and had simply asked me, “What do you need help with?” 

I was immensely thankful whenever people wanted to help, because I literally could not do it. The demands of the hospital—location, time constraints, relentless stress, and simply never being home—made handling these basic life tasks impossible.

When others stepped in, they freed me to focus completely on my sick child. 

3. Celebrating that Child in the Hospital 

When your child is immunocompromised, not feeling well, or in isolation, visitors can be limited, and the days can become, as my daughter put it, “so boring.”

This is where you can step in to remind the child they are loved and still a priority.  

• Gift baskets from the hospital store, special deliveries, and even cards would make her whole day, and help her know that even though she was missing school, she was not forgotten about. 

• The moms of Ashton’s friends and hospital staff brought special treats, decorated her room, and made sure that she had a beautiful burst of normal life during her birthday in the hospital after her first brain surgery. 

• The key is not to worry about grand gestures; focus on simple comforts and small surprises that help lift the spirit of a child fighting the toughest battle.  

• Think of a new movie, a cozy blanket, a coloring book, or a favorite snack.  

These simple acts are powerful reminders of normal life and make the long, boring days feel special. 

4. Start a GoFundMe for Medical Expenses 

Cancer can financially devastate, even with the best insurance. The costs of treatment, prescriptions, specialist visits, and travel add up fast, often while one parent has had to stop working to provide care.  

This is where the community can make an unforgettable difference. For us, community members immediately started a GoFundMe to help us with our daughter’s medical care.   

• The relief and heartfelt appreciation for all those who gave cannot be overstated.   

• Because financial support gives parents the mental freedom to focus on their child's health, it helps prevent worrying about how to pay the next bill.  

5. Care Packages for Parents

At the forefront with childhood cancer are also the parents like me who were/are often for overwhelmed and focused on their child that there is rarely time to take care of themselves.  

Think about those long, blurry hours spent next to a hospital bed: a package doesn't need to be fancy, just thoughtful.  

• Include cozy essentials like a warm blanket (because hospital blankets are thin!), nice toiletries, a good lip balm. 

• One of the things that I found most helpful in our adult packages were a mesh bag for dirty laundry, which is one of the last things we think about when at the hospital. 

• Gift cards became a lifesaver, for coffee, food delivery service, or a gift card for the hospital the cafeteria or any other things you can think that would help daily.  

• Being able to order something outside of the hospital with a Doordash gift card was such a special treat. Then, even once we got home from the hospital, making dinner seemed almost impossible, so the delivery services cards help immensely once the family is back home too. 

6. Gift Care Packages for the Kids 

While my daughter’s love language is giving acts of service, she genuinely enjoyed receiving gifts. 

During the almost two years she was unable to go to school she hoped for packages because it was one of the only ways she had access to the outside world and a sense of normalcy.   

• The thoughtful care packages or letters from organizations, like Starlight, became incredibly important. They didn't just contain toys; they carried a tangible feeling of being remembered, making her feel close, loved, and connected during her hardest days.   

• The emotional boost they provided was immeasurable and that feeling of connection and love was one of the most profound medicines of all. 

Navigating a child’s serious illness is incredibly difficult, and most families don’t want to go, or can’t go, through it alone. This is why encouraging them to lean on community support and organizations play a key role.  

While I know it can be hard, I can share first-hand that it’s so beneficial to start connecting, getting support and involved.

I found organizations like Starlight and others to be a light in the dark, people who have been in our shoes, and those you found a special bond with and will never not be part of your life.  

Starlight didn’t just support our cancer kid – they embraced our whole family too, in ways that truly mattered: 

• Whole-Family Focus: They consistently sent Starlight Toy Deliveries for Ashton and her sisters. Seeing their excitement when a package arrived was pure joy. It is so important that the siblings are included, as the journey is hard on the other kids, too (they even received costumes for Halloween!). 
   

• Hospital Comfort: When navigating difficult hospital stays, Starlight provided digital games, craft boxes, and so much more to deliver smiles. When my daughter was going through her brain surgeries, they even sent us Starlight Hospital Gowns she could use so she didn’t have to touch her painful incision site—a simple but life-changing comfort in that time. 
   

• Lasting Connection: The resources we received are free-of-cost because of Starlight’s generous donors and community advocates. Beyond the items, the support is enduring; we’ve found indelible encouragement and friends forever who continue to watch the girls grow up. I still light up when I see an email from Starlight in my inbox, not even kidding!  

Ultimately, Starlight’s support encouraged me to keep going even when it didn't seem possible, or I was running on empty.   

Their care provided comfort and clarity in ways that were invaluable to our entire family.