Care Through Coloring is a program that provides coloring pages, designed by students of all ages (elementary through high school), to pediatric patients in hospitals via recreational therapists and pediatric nurses. Coloring offers a calming activity for patients and their families within a stressful hospital environment. Susan Kalstrup, a Cone Hospital Pediatric Recreational Therapist, reported that it is extremely time-consuming and difficult to find age-appropriate coloring pages for children to access. Donated coloring books cannot be used across patients due to safety protocols, so they are often only for one-time use. Research suggests that coloring is a beneficial alternative to electronic devices such as video games or television viewing. Mrs. Kalstrup relayed that, most of the time, patients, especially older adolescents, cannot find pages in donated coloring books that interest them. My program aims to address the problem through the creation of this website, “Care Through Coloring.” Utilizing the Care Through Coloring website, recreational and art therapists can easily access free coloring pages for their patients and their families.
