This study aims to report on undergraduate nursing students' experience in the implantation of an extension project that uses leisure activities as a strategy for intervention for family members or other companions of hospitalized children, at the pediatric clinic of a University Hospital in the interior of Sao Paulo state, Brazil. The group's activities, which involve handwork, drawing, artwork, relaxation, sewing, pedagogical-educational workshops, and others, were accomplished during two weekly meetings of at least two hours each. Leisure is used not only for distraction and pastime, but also, in trying to minimize negative events that result from the hospitalization process, to allow for the creative integration of parents and other relatives and companions of hospitalized children and adolescents into the care process for these clients.
Parents; Child, Hospitalized; Leisure activities; Pediatric nursing