Rebecca Linton says doctor appointments are "the norm" for her four-year-old daughter Kaitlyn – so spending some time with a "Huggles" doll there makes her hospital visits a little more special.
"It's a little bit of attention," Linton told CTV Montreal. "It's special, it's playtime."
Linton's daughter was one of several children at Montreal Shriners Hospital for Children who enjoyed some Huggles play time on Sunday, when the dolls' creator Brenda Katz was there to deliver her creations as part of a campaign to give 1,000 dolls to hospitals across Canada.
"You see the children immediately respond, you see their problems just wash away and they're left to focus on this doll that's the same size as them,” Katz said. “It really makes a difference."
She said the life-size Huggles dolls are meant to teach kids different values, including kindness, cheer, generosity, gratitude, fairness and honesty.
Katz created the dolls as means to help her own son, who was being bullied.
"You need these life skills to help kids cope," she said.
In hospitals, staff use the dolls to help children prepare for surgery.
"It helps a lot with dealing with anxiety they can have, some stress and pain management," nurse manager Androniki Tsoybariotis said.
With a report from CTV Montreal
