Child Life: Helping comfort your child during their hospital stay

We know it can be scary when your child needs to go to the hospital. UW Health Kids child life specialists help your child and family cope with any fears and anxieties.

Our team includes specialists trained in child and teen development. We explain medical procedures and diagnoses in an appropriate way for each child to understand for their age and development. We use play and other distractions to make your child’s time in the hospital as positive as possible.

When we work with teens, we empower them with tools and resources to create a coping plan for return to home and school. We also help teens as they transition to adult care.

Some places you’ll find us:

• Burn unit

• Diagnostic therapy center/radiation

• Emergency Department

• Inpatient units

• Pediatric palliative care

• Pediatric specialty clinics

• Surgery Department

Child-centered services 

We provide a wide range of activities, guidance, services and spaces to keep your child comfortable and relaxed and to support your family. They include:

• Adjustment to hospitalization

• Coping techniques

• Daily activities

• Education and resources for difficult conversations with children

• Emotional support

• Medical play

• Memory making and legacy building

• New diagnosis teaching

• Pain control and comfort measures

• Playrooms and teen lounges (24-hour) 

• Preparation for surgery

• Procedure support

• Self-expression activities

• Sibling support and education

• Special events and visitors

• Therapeutic activities

• Trauma support

Our Child Life program is entirely funded through the generous support of donors. You can support our certified child life specialists to help children, teens and families cope with the fear and anxiety associated with coming to or staying in the hospital. To make a gift or for more information on how gifts make a difference, visit our giving site.

You can also directly donate the most needed in-kind items for our patients by visiting our Amazon and Target registries. Items are shipped directly to our hospital.

Amazon
To access our American Family Children's Hospital Child Life Amazon online registry, go to the registry page and in the "find a Baby Registry" search bar, enter: "afch." Then select the registry listed as: afch.

Target
To access our Target registry, go to the Target registry page and enter “afch” into the First Name and Last Name field search boxes click on the red "View Registry" button to view our registry items.

For questions, please email childlifedonations@uwhealth.org or call (608) 264-5437.

You can work with our child life team to prepare your child and family for a hospital stay or surgery. Steps you can take include:

• Help your child understand what will happen with our teaching sheets (below)

• Inform your child’s school and other groups about the upcoming hospital stay.

• Request a hospital or surgery area tour.

• Talk with your child and encourage questions.

• Use the anesthesia mask and surgical caps from your surgery tour packet to practice wearing them at home.

What to bring

When your child needs to come to the hospital, be sure to pack familiar items to help your child feel more comfortable and at ease. You can bring:

• Comfort items

• Electronic devices

• Favorite clothes

• Personal care items

• Phone and phone charger

• Photos of family and friends

• Special books or games

We provide many programs and spaces to make the hospital experience more enjoyable for your child and family.

Music is naturally engrained across various cultural affiliations, and the life span of all developmental ages. It can also access multiple areas of the brain simultaneous and therefore, can be inherently healing. Music therapy is an evidenced-based practice that uses individualized assessment and treatment plan to address a variety of your child’s goals, including:

• Reducing stress and anxiety

• Decreasing pain perception

• Promote memory/legacy making

• Normalizing the environment

• Promote development

• Enhancing self-expression

• Supporting functional motor, cognitive, or speech skills

• Improving mood

• Alternate engagement during medical procedures

• Promote family connection and bonding

• Promoting autonomy

Music therapy sessions can vary from passively listening to actively creating and may include:

• Playing instruments

• Songwriting

• Singing

• Music for relaxation

• Listen and talking about music

• Creating playlists

• Moving or dancing to music

• Creating recordings

• Learning a new instrument

About our music therapist

Music therapists are trained health care professionals designated by the credential MT-BC. Music therapy is a bachelors entry level position from an accredited university, with 6-month full time internship and board certification exam. Others may pursue additional education with masters or doctoral in music therapy as well. For more information about music therapy education visit American Music Therapy Association or Certification Board for Music Therapists.