Which age group should the pediatric nurse recognize as being vulnerable to events that lessen their feeling of control and power?

A) Infants
B) Toddlers
C) Preschoolers
D) School-age children

When a child is hospitalized, the altered family role, physical disability, loss of peer acceptance, lack of productivity, and inability to cope with stress usurp individual power and identity. This is especially detrimental to school-age children, who are striving for independence and productivity and are now experiencing events that lessen their control and power. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, although affected to different extents by loss of power, are not as significantly affected as are school-age children.