Being sick can be tough on everyone involved. But it can be especially hard on children and families. That’s why we’ve child life services to help kids understand what’s happening during treatments and procedures, and provide them with opportunities to build resilience and strength while they’re there. Child life services offer activities to help children feel good and strong during their stays.
Once families have recovered from hospitalizations and have had a positive experience with child life, they and their loved ones often ask for ways to support child life programs. They’ve seen firsthand how child life programs provide a safe and nurturing environment for children to grow, learn, and thrive even through illness, injury and hospitalization. People can support child life programs by volunteering, donating, and advocating for them.
Here are specific ways you can support child life programs:
Make a Donation
One of the best ways to support child life programs is to make a financial donation. Child life programs rely heavily on donations to provide services and support to children and families. Donations can be made to specific child life programs or to organizations that support child life programs, such as the Association for Child Life Professionals.
Volunteer Your Time
Another great way to support child life programs is to volunteer your time. Child life programs often need volunteers to help with a variety of tasks, such as leading activities, providing transportation, or helping with administrative tasks. If you have some free time and want to make a difference in the lives of children, consider volunteering at a child life program near you.
Advocate for Child Life Programs
You can also support child life programs by advocating for them. This means speaking up about the importance of child life programs and urging others to support them as well. You can advocate for child life programs in your community, online, or even at the state or federal level.
Spread the Word about Child Life Programs
In addition to advocating for child life programs, you can also help by spreading the word about them. Tell your friends and family about the importance of child life programs and how they benefit children and families. You can also share information about child life programs on social media or write articles or blog posts about them.
Reach out to your Hospital’s Leaders and Administration
Finally, you can support child life programs by talking about the impact your child life team had on your family. Personal letters, voicemails, and bringing child life services up in discharge surveys are great ways to let leadership know how important child life services are.
Child life programs are important for the development and well-being of children. They provide a safe and nurturing environment for children to grow and learn. Parents can support child life programs by volunteering, donating, and advocating for them. By supporting child life programs, parents can help ensure that children have the opportunity to thrive.
