Fun Nurse

🦷 Let’s Talk Teeth! 🦷

Now, I know I’m not a dentist… but I am a nurse who has seen far too many children undergo dental surgery that could have been prevented.

When I worked on a children’s surgical ward, our dental lists were enormous. Every single day, children came through for procedures under a general anaesthetic. While some cases were unavoidable, such as dental trauma from accidents, complex medical conditions, or children who experience sensory challenges and difficulties with toothbrushing, many cases were due to preventable tooth decay and poor oral hygiene.

As adults, it’s our responsibility to help children learn healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Children depend on us to teach them when, why and how to brush their teeth properly. Something as simple as brushing twice a day, morning and night, can make a huge difference to their long-term dental health.

One procedure I saw regularly was a CORGA (Comprensive Oral Rehabilitation under General Anaesthetic), where multiple teeth required treatment or removal while the child was asleep. Seeing young children need surgery for something that is often preventable was always heartbreaking.

That’s why dental health is something I briefly include in my Fun Nurse sessions. We chat about brushing our teeth twice a day, keeping our smiles healthy and why looking after our teeth is so important. Children love sharing their own brushing routines and hearing from their friends helps reinforce positive habits in a fun and engaging way.
The children get to practise brushing teeth and use their medical torches to have a look at my smile too (I do take pride in my pearly whites! 😁🦷).

Healthy teeth aren’t just about a nice smile. Good oral health helps children eat comfortably, speak clearly, sleep better and avoid pain, infections and unnecessary hospital visits.

To all the parents doing their best with little ones who have sensory needs, additional needs or who find toothbrushing particularly challenging — you’re doing a great job! Sometimes brushing teeth can feel like an uphill battle but every small win counts ♥️

A toothbrush, a little toothpaste and two minutes twice a day can save a child from a whole lot more in the future. 💜🧸

❄️ Winter is here in Australia, and with it comes the season of coughs, colds, and those pesky winter bugs. For many children, this can mean needing a little extra help with their breathing and lungs.

It’s also that time of year when our little ones show their true strength and suddenly transform into baby alligators 🐊 when it’s time to use a spacer! If you’ve ever tried to hold a mask near a determined toddler’s face, you’ll know exactly what I mean!

One piece of equipment that many families become familiar with is the spacer used with Ventolin. While it can be incredibly helpful, let’s be honest — most children aren’t huge fans of it. Having a mask placed over their face can feel strange, especially when they’re unwell, tired, or in hospital. Being woken up during the night for treatment isn’t much fun for anyone.

That’s one of the reasons I include spacer and mask demonstrations in my Fun Nurse sessions. By allowing children to see, touch, explore and play with medical equipment in a relaxed and fun environment, it helps make these experiences feel a little less scary if they ever need them in real life.

Many of the children I meet have already used a spacer themselves, while others recognise them from seeing a sibling, parent or friend use one. Giving them the opportunity to become familiar with the equipment through play can help build confidence and reduce anxiety around future healthcare experiences.

💙 A quick reminder: the Ventolin used during Fun Nurse sessions is a placebo training device only. No medication is ever used during any of my sessions.

My goal is simple: helping children feel confident, prepared and a little less worried about doctors, nurses, hospitals and medical equipment — one teddy bear at a time.

I honestly can’t believe my little business is 3 years old already 💜🧸

Fun Nurse brings me so much joy and happiness, and I’m incredibly proud of how far it has come. Even though I only run sessions one day a week alongside working as a nurse, seeing the impact it has on children makes every single second worth it.

But honestly, the thing I’m MOST proud of is that this business and whole idea was created completely by me 💜

Before starting Fun Nurse, I searched all over Australia, the UK and other countries looking for similar businesses to get ideas and inspiration… and they simply didn’t exist.

Everything had to be created from scratch.

❤️The idea.
🧡The business.
💛The sessions.
💜The lesson plans.
🩵The structure.
🩷The schedule.
💚The equipment.
💙The vision.

It took over 6 months of hard work behind the scenes — working day and night to build something that didn’t already exist. And I did that. This whole idea came from me. Not copied, not taken from somewhere else — my own hard work, passion and vision brought to life 🩺

And honestly, seeing others now trying to recreate my business is a bit of a kick in the teeth after all the hard work I put into building it — especially when it’s presented as though it was their own original idea. But at the same time, I hold my head high knowing that I clearly created something pretty amazing 💜

As much as I would love to do this full time one day, right now I continue to balance both nursing and Fun Nurse — and I’m so grateful that I’m able to do what I love.

I truly wouldn’t be where I am today without the amazing support from daycare centres, kindys, educators and families who continue to book and recommend me. Your support means more than you know 💜

Over the last 3 years, I’ve now seen 2,000+ children through my sessions 🤯And honestly? If I’ve helped even a small handful of children feel less scared of doctors, hospitals or medical equipment, then I know I’ve done something worthwhile.

Behind all the fun, role play, teddy bears and hands-on activities is something really important — helping reduce children’s fear and anxiety around future medical experiences in a safe, playful and positive way 🩺🧸

One thing I’m very mindful of in my Fun Nurse sessions is the language I use with the children. 💙

I personally don’t like using words like “blood” or “needles” during my sessions. My whole aim is to keep everything fun, friendly and focused on reducing fear and anxiety around doctors, nurses and hospital visits.

BUT… the children absolutely LOVE the tourniquets! 😂
They love pulling them tight on the teddy bears and pressing the clip to make them pop free again. It’s always one of the most exciting parts of the session as for many of the children, tourniquets are something new to them!

Because a big fear for many children around healthcare is often linked to needles, I wanted to find a way to keep this activity positive, playful and child friendly rather than removing it altogether.

So instead, I explain them like this:

✨ “It gives your arm a tiny squeeze for a few seconds, then pop — it comes off again!”
✨ “It helps the nurses and doctors find the little wriggly lines in our arms called veins.”

Simple. Friendly. Non-scary. 💙

If the children didn’t enjoy using them so much, I probably would have removed them from my sessions completely — but finding gentle, child-friendly ways to explain real medical equipment means the children can still explore, role play and build confidence in a safe and positive way.

And honestly… the teddy bears get so many arm squeezes every session! Seeing the children laugh while practicing on teddy bears instead of feeling fearful around medical equipment is exactly why I created Fun Nurse in the first place 🩺🧸

Thankyou for a fun morning ♥️🧸

This engaging and educational session introduces children to what happens when visiting a doctor or hospital, aiming to alleviate fear and anxiety. Using real medical equipment in a “teddy bear hospital” setting, children are shown that medical environments and equipment aren’t as intimidating as they may seem.
Children are given the opportunity to explore medical equipment through hands-on learning. They can see, touch and practice with real medical equipment while gaining valuable knowledge. 💜🧸

This interactive and educational session focuses on teaching children essential water safety skills. Children will learn to identify potential dangers around the water, understand when it is safe to enter water and explore the consequences of entering the water unattended.
Using teddy bears, children will gain insight into what paramedics, doctors and nurses do in emergency situations including a demonstration of CPR presented in a non-threatening way. The water safety session also includes hands on activities where children can practice using various types of floats and explore medical equipment used in CPR. 💙🧸

Spent the morning creating a new TikTok account for Fun Nurse!
Would REALLY appreciate a follow 🩷🧸

Fun Nurse on TikTok 0 Followers, 0 Following, 10 Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by Fun Nurse

Thankyou for booking another fun session 💜