Medical play

Painful medical procedures are difficult to cope with. As a Certified Child Life Specialist, my role is to prepare children for new experiences while providing a coping plan. I had the opportunity to support my own son for a routine blood test this week. He was quite nervous when his pediatrician mentioned it and I […]

If you (or your preschooler) has ever asked the question, "what is blood made of?", you must check out this fun activity to learn about the parts of blood.

Last year our pediatrician heard a murmur in my daughter's heart at her 18-month checkup. We were referred to a pediatric cardiologist who took a further listen and he felt that it was harmless but that we should make sure and get a follow-up with her regular pediatrician in a year to check that it had gone away on it's own. We had that follow-up last week, and the pediatrician still hears the murmur so, my daughter needs a pediatric EKG. She will need to be hooked up to the machine for…

In honor of Spring finally being upon us, here’s a fun and easy art project: First Aid Butterflies!! . . Things you need: Paper in your choice of color Markers Gauze (or cheesecloth) Band-aid…

The gifting season is right around the corner, and our team of certified child life specialists have some smart options to get you started with the little...

A good tool for kids who need breathing treatments, it makes the mask less scary.

Medical preparation is a big part of a child life specialist’s job, but what happens if you don’t have the exact tools needed? You make it using loose parts! Working in private practice, I don’t have access to the nurses’ closet, so I had to be creative in making a butterfly needle this week. Here is […]

Helping kids cope with medicine and injections through art.

Learn why medical important is important for your preschool-aged child and view a comprehensive gift guide list for the best medical play toys for this stage of development.

Posts about Play written by debvilasconsult and Deb Vilas

Who loves medical play activities? #childlifechick does! I found this activity on Pinterest during my internship, but haven’t had the opportunity to implement it yet. I cannot find the dire…

One of the things I love most about being a mom is watching my kids play. I love to see them dress up and watch where their imaginatio...

Things for kids to do after surgery

X-Ray Playdough - an invitation to play and learn about human body with playdough.