Doane House Hospice

Tot Art Therapy Program

Many more young families facing life-threatening illnesses are being referred to the Hospice.  Our Tot Art Therapy Program supports children ages 2-5 and offers anticipatory grief and bereavement support. Children are naturally creative and uninhibited when working with art materials so the art therapy process is a natural and safe experience for them.  The modality is helpful for addressing behavioural changes,  regression, and fears of abandonment.  Although tots do not have the vocabulary to express their anxieties and fears, their level of understanding about their parent’s illness is remarkable, and their courage to help fight the cancer is inspiring.

Tots love to paint favourite images of childhood, but dinosaurs play special roles when fighting cancer. In this case, the blue dinosaur has breast cancer and needs help to hold up the stomach area. The green dinosaur was created to save Mummy.

Tots love to paint favourite images of childhood, but dinosaurs play special roles when fighting cancer.  In this case, the blue dinosaur has breast cancer and needs help to hold up the stomach area.  The green dinosaur was created to save Mummy.

Young tots often know that the colour pink represents breast cancer.  “Mummy’s Cancer Dress” is a series of paintings created by a 4-year-old tot and completed over a period of eight months.