We know a hospital can be an unfamiliar and sometimes stressful place for a child. Through play and other family-friendly, stress-reducing activities, our specially trained child life specialists help your kid be a kid, even when they’re sick or injured.
What Do Child Life Specialists Do?
Whether you want help preparing your child for surgery or kid-focused support during medical procedures, we’re here for your family. We help create an environment where your child is more at ease in the hospital and during their care.
Our certified child life specialists offer:
- Activities to support your child during emergency room visits and other hospital interventions
- Therapeutic play with special toys and medical equipment
- Age-appropriate preadmission tours to help them understand what to expect before a hospital stay
- Family education and support
- Coordination with a dedicated, on-site teacher to keep your kid caught up on their schoolwork
- Help with grief or bereavement when a loved one passes away
- Trauma-informed, age-appropriate explanations to help children understand the hospital environment and their care
Child life specialists work in virtually every area of Children’s Hospital. As part of your child’s care team, we’ll partner with you and other specialists to provide comfort and support for your family.
How to See a Child Life Specialist
You can request to see our team any time your child is in the hospital. Just ask your nurse or other provider, and they will request a consultation with a child life specialist.
Child Life Services We Provide
Our child life specialists are certified professionals with four-year degrees, trained in supporting children and families in a healthcare setting. We offer a range of activities.
Children’s Play
In unfamiliar environments like the hospital, play can help kids share their feelings and put them at ease. We encourage our young patients to play together in our dedicated hospital playroom and teen activity room. Our team also provides art activities and games for kids of all ages.
Medical Play and Preparation
We’ll help prepare your child before procedures like IV insertions or blood draws with hands-on play. Such play builds kids’ knowledge about their illness and gives them a sense of control over their hospital experience.
Our child life specialists also support kids during procedures by teaching coping skills. These include strategies like blowing bubbles, holding hands, relaxation and imagery.
Music Therapy
Our music therapists offer a wide array of services to support children of all ages. We provide music therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and several pediatric units.
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Children’s Hospital is home to a specially trained facility dog named Link who helps create a more “pawsitive” experience for your child. Link can help normalize the hospital environment, bring a calm or uplifting presence and support therapy goals by encouraging movement. We also offer visits from our therapy dogs through our WAGS program.
Support for Parents, Siblings and Families
Your family plays an important role in your child’s healing process. Our child life specialists can share ideas with you to help you make your child’s hospital stay more comfortable. We’re also here to provide emotional support to siblings of all ages.
Holidays, Birthdays and Special Events
During your child’s hospital stay, your family can choose to participate in holiday celebrations, such as Christmas in July or Halloween. We can also organize a birthday party for your child. Other special events include visits from superheroes and other community members.
How to Become a Child Life Specialist
If you’re interested in supporting families as a child life specialist, our team hosts regular educational events.
