As outlined by the Child Life Council in 1997, play is an essential, natural part of childhood, important in its own right. Play facilitates coping, mastery, self-expression, creativity, achievement and learning, and is vital to a child’s optimal growth and development. Play is an integral aspect of the child life practice with infants, children and youth of all ages.
When asked about the biggest changes her department has experienced over the past three quarters of a century, Haineault underlines the professionalization of Child Life. This includes the establishment of the Child life council in 1982, along with a method of professional certification which assured a standard of child life specialist practice.
“With a strong focus on family-centered care, the child and his or her family are at the heart of all child life interventions” Haineault. Child Life specialists work in partnership with patients families and professionals in order to improve the quality of their healthcare experience.
Today, the Child Life Services department boasts 14 active employees, working both full-time and part-time schedules throughout the hospital, and Haineault hopes to see the department continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs and environments of the patients they serve.
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