Author Archives: adventuresinchildlife

Tips for students

It’s important to show potential employers that while you may still be learning to walk the walk, you can certainly talk the talk! Child life comes with a special set of vocabulary words that every CCLS uses in their day to day work. This not only will make you sound more professional overall, but itContinue reading “Tips for students”

Medical Play

I’m all about cool toys to promote medical play with my patients. I recently found Pandora’s box of playmobile medical play sets and needless to say, I’m obsessed! I got the “Hospital Play Box” which resembles an OR to use on my surgery/ortho unit. They also have a bunch more like an X-ray room, pediatrician,Continue reading “Medical Play”

Increasing Compliance

There are many times that I am asked to help a patient to increase compliance with their plan of care. This can be anything from helping a patient take their medicine to helping them walk around the unit post-op to simply helping them breathe after a breathing treatment. These are the times that creativity really kicksContinue reading “Increasing Compliance”

Child Life Market

All week long I’ve shared with you some of my favorite resources I use to help my patients cope with hospitalization. Let’s end another week with a peek into my child life market, Coping + Normalization Edition!  Normalization Link: http://a.co/3sqZ08E Coping Tools Link: http://a.co/2uwX17K

Favorite Find

In January 2014, The Confetti Foundation started supplying birthday party kits to children who spend their birthdays in the hospital. Through the party kits, children of all ages are celebrated and honored on their special day. One of my favorite duties as a CCLS is helping patients celebrate important milestones, like birthdays! I love celebrating birthdaysContinue reading “Favorite Find”

Favorite Find

Tanners Totes is dedicated to providing cheer to preteen and teen patients undergoing long-term hospital treatments and stays. A Tanner’s Tote is unique in that it presents the patient with a wide variety of new, non-food, items to bring some greatly needed distractions and joy. This is another organization that I hold near and dearContinue reading “Favorite Find”

Favorite Find

Being that March is Child Life Month (YAY!) I am going to share with you 3 of my favorite finds throughout the week. Today is all about Pabs Packs! “PAB” is for Pia and Abbie; that’s us. We are lifelong friends. One of the things we share is knowing what it’s like to be in the hospital feeling lousy andContinue reading “Favorite Find”

Child Life Market

All week long I’ve shared with you my NICU tips and tricks. Today I want to share my NICU shopping lists with you! Must-Have Items for NICU Siblings Link: http://a.co/hVPChxj Must-Have Items for Bereavements Link: http://a.co/gh3Fq3w Must-Have Items for NICU Link: http://a.co/9x22vgR What are your NICU must-have items?

NICU Graduates

It’s a great day in NICU whenever we have a NICU graduate leaving our hospital! To commemorate this major milestone, I teamed up with volunteers to knit graduation caps. I then gave the graduation caps to our discharge nurse to give out for patients that have been admitted to our NICU for 30 days or more.Continue reading “NICU Graduates”