Episode 64: How Child Life Specialists Help Kids Cope with Hard Things ft. Katie Taylor

It might look like child’s play, but child life specialists work with parents in hospitals and other settings to help children cope with the challenges of illness, hospitalization and disability.   In this episode, we chat about: What led her to pursue a career as a child life specialist? How do child life specialists serve babies and children in the hospital or in a specialized doctor's office? How do you gain confidence and speak up in rounds and with the care team? How can you support preemies during painful procedures? How can you integrate siblings into long hospitalizations? What are some of the activities or strategies a child life specialist might employ with a child and his/her family in the hospital? What inspired you to start Child Life on Call and what are some of the features and how can it help NICU parents? What's your best advice to a parent who has a child that's struggling with a procedure or pending surgery?   Katie Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, a digital platform designed to provide parents, kids, and the care team with access to child life services tools and resources. She is a certified child life specialist with over 12 years of experience working in various pediatric healthcare settings. Katie is the author of the children's book, and has presented on the topics of child life and entrepreneurship, psychosocial care in the hospital, and supporting caregivers in the NICU setting both nationally and internationally. She is also the creator and host of the Child Life On Call Podcast which focuses on the essential role of child life services to empower caregivers at and beyond the bedside.   Resources: https://childlifeoncall.com/comfort-positioning-guide/ https://childlifeoncall.com/parents/   Connect with Katie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childlifeoncall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/childlifeoncall Website: https://childlifeoncall.com/   The NICU is hard. We’re here to help.   Hand to Hold is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents with personalized emotional support, educational resources and community before, during and after their baby’s NICU stay. NICU support is available at no cost to NICU parents in English and Spanish.   Connect with Hand to Hold: Learn more or get support at handtohold.org   Follow Hand to Hold on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handtohold Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handtohold/   Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NICUHandtoHold YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HandtoHold      The following music was used for this media project: Music: Thriving Together [Full version] by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10332-thriving-together-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license   Music: Bright Colors Of Life by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7855-bright-colors-of-life License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license