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Undoing Racism: Child Life Professional Development Workshop

The Undoing Racism​TM​/Community Organizing workshop is an intensive 2-day workshopdesigned to educate, challenge and empower people to “undo” the racist structures that hinder effective social change. The training is based on the premise that racism has been systematically constructed and that it can be “undone” when people understand where it comes from, how it functions, why it is…

I’m always looking to add new resources to my toolbox and share them with others. So it was a delight to discover The Highway Inside of Me, a newly published workbook that supports resiliency in children, adolescents and adults.

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Educate and empower kids with food allergies through the help of The Mightiest Me.  Laurie Margolis, is the creator and author of the Mighty Jax and The Cookie Surprise. She also lives with severe food allergies herself, along with her two sons.

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In honor of Jayne Kamau, a true child life hero. We will continue to hold her legacy strong and provide compassionate work to children and families.

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Sustainable Child Life Services in Kenya

We lost an amazing child life specialist, Jayne Kamau in the tragic plane crash on flight ET302. I would like to honor her life by sharing her compassion work with children and families at Sally Test Pediatric Centre in Kenya.

"The Donut That Roared: A Child's Guide To Surviving an MRI" Spotlight and #Giveaway #ChildLife

I am thrilled to feature the co-author, Joan Yordy Brasher and her recently published children’s book, The Donut That Roared. This is a must have book for any child life program, radiology department or parent of a child with a chronic illness.

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Creating a Legacy for Your Child #Loss #ChildhoodCancer #MemoryMaking #ChildLife

Guest Blogger, Sara Stamp Founder of Layla’s Legacy

Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. It’s why when someone learns you’ve lost a child, their first response is typically “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.” Truly, they can’t because our brains aren’t wired that way. Sigmund Freud once said that people run towards pleasure and run away from pain. Thank you Captain…

March is Child Life Month

Hooray, March is here and so is child life month! There will be lots of amazing featured posts and giveaways, so be sure to sign up for email notifications and follow on social media;  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn.

Helping Children Cope During a School Lockdown: Spotlight and Giveaway

Our children are growing up in a society where school shootings occur more frequentlythan ever before. It’s terrifying just to hear about it, let alone experience. It fuels anxiety, leaving parents, educators and students navigating ways to cope. One solution is to be prepared, creating lockdown drills to teach children what to do in this type of traumatic event. Sometimes these drills can create…

Supporting Children with Special Healthcare Needs in School

Guest Blogger, Patty Weiner, Originally published at Mommybites 

Approximately six million children are hospitalized in the U.S. each year.

Children with special healthcare needs may have chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, heart disorders or other conditions that may impact their normal activities intermittently for more than three months out of…

Let’s face it, child life specialists encounter some of the craziest things. We’re there to help kids and families cope with challenging and traumatic life experiences in the hospital and community. We love our profession! To avoid burnout and compassion fatigue, we try to instill healthy self-care habits. Humor is usually one of them.

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Create Meaningful Memories With These 7 Fun Family Bonding Activities

Guest Blogger, Jordan Smith

Life is busy. From work and school to sports practices, dance recitals and school plays, it seems like there is never enough time to just enjoy being a family. While these day-to-day activities are important for families, they don’t always provide the bonding experiences parents — and kids — so badly crave.

The families that find the time to bond, however, tend to…

Helping Children Understand Depression: The Black Cloud Blues, Spotlight and Giveaway

As parents we want to protect our kids from pain, but sometimes it is out of our control. Depression is a really challenging emotion that is complex and difficult to understand, even for adults. I was excited to learn about a new children’s book, The Black Cloud Blues, that is providing validation and tools to help kids cope with depression. It is a great resources to be added to your home,…

Guest Blogger, Korie Leigh, CCLS, CT from Functional Health and Wellness

I am excited to share that I am expanding my private practice to include offering clinical supervision and coaching to child life professionals that are seeking to deepen and expand their clinical practice. All of my services are offered online, so no need to worry about dealing with traffic or finding parking to work with…

Support Hospitalized Military Children on Giving Tuesday

There are 1.7 million children of U.S. military personnel. Known as MilKids, their lives have more than the typical challenges of childhood; they often face parental deployment, multiple moves, changes in schools, as well as a lack of extended family nearby. When a child is hospitalized it adds additional stress and anxiety.

Standish Foundation has created a program to bring comfort and support…

A Letter to Child Life Students; Finding Hope After Rejection

Guest Blogger, Belinda Hammond from Child Life Connection 

The gift of time….

I hear from so many students about the frustrations of applying to practicums and internships, and as we know, the process isn’t as easy as we’d hope. I’ve had several students share that they don’t know how to accept or deal with rejection….in my mind, getting a “no” on a clinical application isn’t a rejection. Here…