Depending on your perspective, children can often be thought of as little adults. If you agree with such a viewpoint, then it’s true that children can get hurt the same as adults. With all the time they spend outside with friends playing on monkey bars and jungle gyms and playing sports, there’s all kind of opportunity for injury. That doesn’t mean kids should spend time playing, but when they get hurt, they often need special care.

When children get hurt, one option for treatment is going to a general practitioner or even the emergency room if the injury is bad enough. But this can add up in time spent, money spent and in some cases, your child may not be getting the right care.

So what can you do as a parent? One of the best things you can do for your child is take them to a pediatric therapist. Pediatric therapy can help your child get back to worrying about kid stuff and not worrying about the fact they’re hurt. How can pediatric therapy help with injuries? Here are five reasons to consider pediatric therapy for your child:

• Specialized care: Some people may think of children as little adults, but the plain and simple fact is they are still kids with kid-sized bodies. That means therapy and rehabilitation from injury will be different than that of adults. When it comes to physical therapy for an injury, a pediatric therapy center can cater therapy sessions to a child’s specific needs and do so in a way that keeps them engaged and eager to participate. It’s crucial that children stay engaged in physical therapy so their broken bones heal correctly or whatever other injury issue there is can be resolved. Keeping them engaged through pediatric therapy is a good way to make that happen.
• Lowered injury risk: Another benefit of pediatric therapy is that it may actually lower the risk of a re-injury for your child. It’s true that some of your family’s up-front costs for therapy may be high, but it’s well worth it over time. Why? Specialized physical therapy will help your child heal faster and are high-quality, so they can heal and get back to doing the things they love with less risk of having to make repeat visits to therapy.
• Treatment with kid gloves: Since children’s bodies are always growing, it’s important when an injury occurs for a physical therapist to help a child’s injury heal correctly and in a timely fashion. Failure to treat injuries correctly can have lasting effects on a child’s growth as they age. Pediatric physical therapists are experts at what they do, so your child will get the absolute best care for their muscles, bones and joints.
• More than treatment: Make no mistake, the goal of pediatric therapy is to help a child heal. But in the process, pediatric therapists are doing more than just the Xs and Os of rehabilitation. Pediatric therapists are passionate about what they do and passionate about helping kids. That means they take time to understand their patients and help them understand how treatment will help them. Pediatric therapy is done in a welcoming, friendly atmosphere that puts kids at ease, instead of feeling scared about their injury.
• Paying more attention: There’s a good chance when you go to see a physical therapist, that you find out he or she was a former athlete as a kid. That means they know exactly what your child is dealing with in that moment and they know how to make them feel better. That means giving them exercises that are catered to their specific injuries, supervising their therapy sessions and getting to know about your child’s physical activity to get an idea of how best to help them.

With pediatric therapy, physical therapists can provide your child with the specialized care they need whether they’re dealing with a sports injury, a general slip and fall, hearing issues after a head injury (something more than 30 million Americans deal with) or pediatric speech therapy. Therapists will take the time to get to know your child and ultimately get them back to being a kid in no time.