Child Life Specialists Argumentative Essay

David Vitter, a former U.S. Senator, once said, “I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!” The goal of Child Life Services is just that, they want to equip sick children and their families with the right tools, both figuratively and literally, to help the children succeed. Child Life Services is a relatively new concept in many areas. There has been a growth in the Child Life Services in the last fifty years. This is fairly odd due to the fact that fewer children are being hospitalized, however the children that are being hospitalized are more severe and require longer hospital stays (Anderson). Within Child Life Services, we see a booming population of Child Life Specialists.

In this particular case children in the hospitals feel in control while they play giving them comfort amidst the uncertainty they commonly feel. A CLS will use the play aspect in many ways. By observing play, a CLS can determine whether or not a child is developing at a rate that is common for a child in their physical and mental position. Child Life Specialists often times will incorporate “medical play” with some of the medical utensils to get the child comfortable with these things such as a tongue depressors, gloves, or a mask. This technique alleviates some of the anxiety the child often feels when going into a procedure (Anderson). Psychological preparation plays many different roles in the life of a hospitalized child. Commonly the psychological preparation allows for the child to learn strategies to help to cope with the tests, procedures, or clinic visits to come. Many of these strategies include relaxation, visualization, and pain management techniques. A CLS will provide information to the child and family about what the child will experience and allow the child to examine the medical equipment to help the child have less anxiety about the procedure. A study done by