Child Life Month: Child Life Specialists of the Past, Present, & Future

We couldn’t let this month go by without celebrating the strong, powerful, determined and compassionate group of people that are the reason Child Life Disaster Relief is what it is today…

Child life specialists of the past, present, and future, this one is for you!

We thank the pioneers, advocates and trailblazers who once upon a time recognized that children too have complex psychosocial needs. To those of you who fine-tuned the art of play-based intervention and stood up for the child’s right to know what was happening to their own body or their own environment, we thank you. We are a recognized, respected and continuously growing profession because of you and the belief you had in the difference we could make in the lives of children.

Child life specialists of the present, you are an inspiration! You are pushing boundaries, setting new standards and proving our value across not only the country but the entire world. You are engaging with your communities, embarking on groundbreaking research initiatives and continuously advocating for the best interest of the child, all while gracefully handling your not-always-glamourous, gowned-and-gloved, hectic-and-emotion-packed, laughter-and-tears-and-everything-in-between filled days of changing lives, one child at a time.

Child life specialists of the future, the world is your oyster. In a society where people are recognizing more and more the multidimensional needs of the child in crisis, our skillset will put as at the forefront – IF we put ourselves out there. The role of Child Life in disaster relief has proven to be invaluable, and that is only the beginning. We can only begin to imagine all of the other possibilities and all the different lives we can impact together as a profession. Never stop thinking big and asking “what if?” because there is a vulnerable child in every corner of every community, and if we continue to expand our horizons, someday we will be able to reach every one of them.

This Child Life Month we celebrate all that we have come from, all that we are,

and all that we have the potential to become.

Celebrate yourselves, child life specialists, because you are amazing!