In this week’s incredibly honest and profound episode, we sit down with Jeff Loving, a husband, proud NICU dad, and the author of Holding Onto the Light: A Father’s Journey Through Loss and Healing. Jeff shares the deeply personal, often unspoken, side of grief: the...
240: How to Stay Calm During Your Child’s Medical Procedures
Podcast Show Notes
In this episode of Child Life On Call, host Katie Taylor, a certified child life specialist, shares personal experiences and practical advice on maintaining calm during your child’s medical procedures. Katie recounts a traumatic incident with her daughter, emphasizing the natural parental panic response and how to manage it.
She offers three key strategies: getting informed about medical procedures, finding a supportive role during the process, and taking care of your own physical and emotional needs. Katie introduces the Support Spot app as a valuable resource, providing step-by-step guides for over 50 medical procedures.
This episode aims to equip parents with the tools and confidence needed to support their children effectively during medical challenges.
00:00 Introduction and Personal Story
02:30 Understanding Parental Panic
03:11 Managing Emotions During Medical Procedures
03:28 Empowering Yourself with Information
04:24 Finding a Role to Play
05:27 Taking Care of Your Needs
06:05 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
07:53 Support Spot App and Resources
09:24 Closing Remarks
Meet the host:
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 13 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 host of the Child Life On Call Podcast which features interviews with parents discussing their experiences throughout their child’s medical journey. The podcast emphasizes the crucial role of child life services in enabling caregivers both at and beyond the bedside.
There’s no greater medicine than when parents & the care team work together.
Empower yourself with the knowledge of child life specialists, so you never feel overwhelmed during your child’s healthcare journey
The Impact of the SupportSpot App
by Child Life On Call
%
of users report high satisfaction, appreciating the app’s comprehensive resources and user-friendly interface.
%
of parent users say the app helped them understand medical procedures and treatment better.
%
of parents believe the app has contributed to better health outcomes for their child.
%
of parent users believe the app has made them feel more empowered to advocate for their child in healthcare
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