Key Concepts Of Child Life

I was asked to describe three specific concepts, ideas, practices that I would take with me and apply to my life. After taking Introduction to Child Life I have thought of the three concepts that I will take with me and apply to my personal life as well as my professional life.

My first concept is the importance of play. I learned from the readings in section 8 that medical play and preparation are both used to inform children about upcoming events. These strategies also are assumed to adjust anxiety to a level that children can learn, adapt, and master their experience. Medical play may also be used after the events and serve a greater purpose. Introducing medical play before a procedure can help children relax as well as the parents. Piaget’s theory talks about the importance of

play and how children learn from hands on experiences better than anything else. So in this section I learned and believe that to be a wonderful child life specialist you have to be creative and think outside of the box. I will use this knowledge for my professional career as well as my personal life by beings hands on in experiences rather than jus watching or listening to a lecture.
My second concept is the care and comfort of the child and family.

In my career I will put my whole heart into making sure the child family are comfortable and understand upcoming events. In that process I want to create and maintain a relationship and great communication with that child and family. When maintaining a healthy relationship I learned from section 7 that relationships involve supportive roles, therapeutic roles and professional roles. I also learned that it is important to pay attention- listen to the words that are being said, but also pay attention to the nonverbal cues such as body language. Consistency is always good to have in maintaining a relationship, because your actions need to match up with your words. In any relationship you need commitment and by owning up to your words you build trust and this also connects with honesty. Honesty is important in situations when you feel uncertain about something. It would better for you to tell the parents you need a second to think rather than tell them false information. Last but not least is it to keep the relationship professional. In a child life setting it is going to be very hard not to wear your heart on your

sleeve.
My third concept is to have a culturally and sensitive practice. I want to have diversity in my profession. I will treat everyone equally and make sure they feel equal. I learned this is section 10 that it is important to do your research. Just because you read up on their religion on the Internet doesn’t make everything you read true and portray to them. Another thing would never to assume just ask questions. I will not pass judgment on where families’ come from, what religion they believe in, what language they speak or how much income they make. My goal as a child life specialist is to be there for the child and family.
As a future child life specialist, I will incorporate these three concepts as well as many others I have learned from this class into my career and my personal life to better myself.