Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) may have chronic conditions or health care needs that require them to be hospitalized. Some children may be in the hospital often, or, for a long time. Being admitted to the hospital, needing a surgery, or coping with chronic conditions can be very stressful for children and their families. Child life services aims to help children and families with this stress.

Children in health care settings can be faced with many challenges, ranging from an unfamiliar setting to invasive and sometimes painful procedures. They often feel as if they have very little control over their own environment. This can be stressful.

A child life specialist works to lower stress and anxiety for children in the hospital. A trained child life specialist can help children work through everything from pre-surgery education, to getting blood drawn, missing home, or coping with a diagnosis of a serious illness. They give children a way to express themselves through play. A child life specialist often has training in social work.

What Do Child Life Specialists Do?

Where Do Child Life Specialists Work?

Before having your child admitted to the hospital, you can call the hospital to see if they offer child life services. To ask about these services, call the hospital's main number and ask for the family support department or social work department. Once your child is in the hospital, you can locate child life services by calling the hospital operator or by asking the child's nurse