The Child Life Program

Phone (718) 670-2966 

The Child Life Program is designed to help children and their families cope with the stresses of hospitalization.  Our supportive services focus on the emotional and developmental needs of the child, as well as the child’s family.  We provide a non-threatening supportive environment that encourages children to explore and understand their feelings, fears and anxieties.

What is Child Life?

We ensure that our pediatric patients and their family are comfortable and confident with the environment, procedures and the people involved with their care. The Child Life staff provides explanations of medical procedures to patients and families, distracts children during medical procedures and provides post-therapeutic intervention to ease the anxiety of the child. Along with a team of specially trained volunteers and interns, the child life staff strives to build a trusting relationship with the children and their families. This is achieved by supervising play, answering questions in age-appropriate language, and providing educational and emotional support.  The trust that is formed allows children to express their feelings and concerns regarding their hospitalization.  We focus on creating the best possible environment that we can for our patients and their families, and giving the best education and support to our children and their families in order to let them have the best hospital experience that they can.

Help the Child Life Fund with a donation! 

What we have to offer: 

• Child Life services are available to all patients on the pediatric unit, the pediatric intensive care unit, ER and Pediatric GI patients.
• Child Life services are available on a referral basis in other areas of the hospital if needed.
• Activities can be brought to the bedside if a child is unable to visit the playroom or the teen room.
• There are Starlight  Fun Centers that have VCRs/Nintendo 64, DVD/Nintendo Game Cubes and DVD/Wii.
• There are Starlight PC Pals, which are laptop computers for the patients to use; they have lots of fun games, educational games and wireless Internet access on them.
• The playroom and teen lounge have scheduled hours for safe, supervised activities.
• Play helps to build coping skills, provide distraction and normalize the hospital experience.
• Volunteers, interns and Child Life specialists staff the Child Life Program.
• The Child Life staff is available to support, distract and prepare children before and during hospital procedures.
• Pre-op tours and preparation are available on an individually scheduled basis.
• Clowns and Musicians come to entertain pediatric patients and their families during their hospitalization. 
• Pet Therapists come with their dogs to visits patients and their families on a weekly basis.
• Snoezelen is a mobile relaxation and distraction therapy program, it comes with different sensory tools that draws a child to focus on its various components during difficult procedures.
• A licensed art therapist is available to pediatric patients in need of more individual attention to cope with their hospitalization.

Child Life Goals:

1. To reduce children’s fears and anxieties regarding hospitalization.
2. To minimize any psychological trauma that may occur from hospitalization.
3. To transform hospitalization from an ordeal into a positive experience that promotes the child’s healthy and normal growth development.
4. To provide emotional support to the entire family.
5. To improve the child and families understanding of medical procedures.
6. To provide hospitalized children with a sense of control over a seemingly uncontrollable situation.
7. To provide the child with the opportunity for safe expression and exploration of emotions.
8. To assist families and medical staff in providing the best overall medical care for their children.

The Value of Play

One of the best ways a child can learn to cope with their hospitalization is through regular play and medical play. Play is a child’s job and it creates a sense of normalcy for a child in an unfamiliar environment. Studies indicate that expressive play activities, combined with verbal and nonverbal licensed creative art therapist, benefit children by helping them understand what is happening to them.  It also allows them to express their thoughts and feelings about their experience with hospitalization.

These activities also provide children with the opportunity to gain a greater sense of control over the environment that has been thrust upon them.

Medical play and preparation form an important aspect of the Child Life Program.  They allow children to explore the medical equipment and to role-play their experiences at a safe distance.  Individual preparation for a specific procedure is an invaluable teaching tool. By demonstrating an upcoming procedure, children have a chance to develop appropriate coping skills for later use. 

Meet Our Team 

For further information about the Child Life Program, please contact:

Director of Child Life
Alisha Rappaport-Zubrow
718-670-2920

or a Child Life Specialist
718-670-2966

Please help us by supporting the child life program or spreading the word on what we do. 

Top 10 Reasons to Call a Child Life Specialist:

10. Child/patient needs preparation for an invasive procedure.

9. Child/patient is having difficulty coping with a necessary procedure, including crying, fighting or hiding.

8. Child/patient exhibits oppositional behavior, refusing to cooperate without anger or hostility.

7. Child/patient or siblings express specific fears to staff needing follow-up.

6. Child/patient is perceived by staff as withdrawn.

5. Child/patient is having difficulty taking medicine.

4. Child/patient admits having recently experienced traumatic loss or has chronic illness.

3. Child/patient is newly diagnosed with chronic illness.

2. Child/patient is admitted for injuries resulting from a traumatic accident, including MVA, Fire, etc.

1. Child/patient has injuries or a diagnosis that has resulted from suspected child abuse.