Child Life addresses hospitalized children's emotional, social, educational, and recreational needs. Our program utilizes play to minimize stress and anxiety and foster positive feelings about health care experiences. This includes education and support during procedures, diagnosis education for patients and families, schedules, bereavement support, and providing play to encourage normalization in the hospital setting.
Recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics and accredited by the Association of Child Life Professionals, our child life team includes certified child life specialists as well as patient activity specialists. Our patient activity specialists work with child life specialists to lead group play sessions for patients and siblings and help organize birthday parties, end of treatment celebrations, discharge parties, and coordinate special visitors. Working as part of your medical team, child life is trained to implement therapeutic activities at the bedside and in group settings to assist patients and families in the medical setting.
During your visit to the hospital, child life specialists can reduce your child's anxiety and promote positive coping. This may be accomplished through diversion during procedures by focusing your child’s attention on something fun and relaxing, as well as ensuring your child has a developmentally appropriate understanding of their procedures and hospitalization. Our hospital embraces family-centered care and encourages family support during visits. Child life specialists will work to promote a positive coping experience for patients.
If your child is scheduled to have a procedure, a child life specialist may help prepare and teach you and your child what they may experience. The purpose of procedural teaching is to reduce anxiety and let the patient explore and ask questions about their upcoming procedure in a safe setting. Specialists may use medical play, teaching dolls, medical equipment, and pictures of the rooms and people your child will see to prepare them for sensory experiences of their upcoming procedures. Patients may participate in a pre-operative tour of the hospital, encouraging your child’s understanding of the hospital setting. For more information on pre-operative tours, please contact the child life department.
During your child’s visit to the hospital, they may encounter a variety of medical equipment for the first time. Child life specialists use medical play to help your child learn about the hospital and express feelings related to the medical setting. Using real medical equipment and engaging in play, your child can gain a sense of control and understanding. Medical play encourages children to explore medical equipment's purposes and take an active role in their health care experience.
Play is a safe and familiar activity for your child during stressful times such as hospitalizations or medical procedures. Child life encourages your child to continue playing at the bedside and in activity rooms located in the hospital to promote recovery, normal development, and independence. Medical procedures are not allowed in activity areas; therefore, children see playrooms as safe.
NOTE: If your child is in isolation or has had a fever in the last 24 hours, they may not be able to attend activity rooms. Activities and toys can be borrowed for your child to play within their room.
The Teen Room at Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock offers a space for teen patients to do crafts, play games and provides opportunities for your teen to meet and socialize with other patients. The Teen Room is available to patients ages 12 years and older and is open 7 days a week during the times listed below.
Monday -Friday
2 – 4 p.m.
6 – 8 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday
2 – 4 p.m.
Location: 4th Floor, Main hallway by Orange Elevators
To protect our patients and with accordance to CDC guidelines, the Teen Room is available for patients for scheduled individual play sessions. To check availability for the Teen Room, please contact your child life specialist.
Big Red Stores Camp Wannaplay at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock invites patients and families of all ages to explore and play. Filled with toys, a sensory table, and crafts, Camp Wannaplay offers patients the opportunity to engage in familiar and normalizing play. Children of all ages are invited to Camp Wannaplay; however, adult caregivers must stay with visitors under 14 years of age. Camp Wannaplay is open 7 days a week during the times listed below.
Monday -Friday
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
2 – 4 p.m.
6 – 8 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: 3rd Floor, Main hallway between Orange and Green Elevators
Siblings and friends provide important support and encouragement for families during your child’s hospitalization. Siblings and friends may be visiting a hospital for the first time, experiencing new sights and emotions. Child life specialists are available to prepare minor visitors (age 17 years and under) before visiting patients to reduce potential anxiety and offer a safe setting for questions about the patient and their condition. Units may have visitation guidelines specific to their areas. Please check with your child’s nurse prior to arranging any visits for minors.
For the safety and well-being of our patients, we ask all visitors to be healthy when visiting the hospital. All visitors will be asked to complete a wellness screening and should not have a cough, runny nose, congestion, fever or diarrhea. If you have any of these symptoms, we ask that you stay home until 48 hours after symptoms stop. Please note, additional visitor restrictions may occur during flu season to reduce the risk of spreading contagious diseases.
For more information on visitor policies, please visit our Visitor Rights and Responsibilities.
We offer a child life practicum in summer only. The practicum is a full time, three-week, 120-hour program. Child life practicum students may be assigned rotations that include evenings, weekends, and holidays. Practicum students must be affiliated with a college or university. Please note, we are currently unable to accept non-affiliated students.
The practicum curriculum incorporates child life programming and addresses challenges and strategies related to current healthcare issues. Benefits to students may include the following: opportunities to observe hospitalized children and adolescents, increased comfort with the hospital environment, increased practical knowledge of child life, and in-service training.
Please return completed application by:
Practicum Start Dates: June and July
Application Deadline: January 5
Attention: Arkansas Children's Hospital will be unable to host Fall 2024 Interns. We will not accept applications until the Spring 2025 session.
Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock internship, accredited by The Association of Child Life Professionals, is offered twice a year. Interns are given opportunities to build independent professional skills, therapeutic group play supervision skills, and develop assessment & intervention skills with patients of diverse ages and varying diagnoses. Internships are available in the spring and fall semesters and are full time (40 hours per week), 15-week, 600-hour program. Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock follows the Association of Child Life Professionals recommended internship deadlines.
The internship curriculum incorporates child life programming challenges and strategies to address current health care issues. Students experience the following schedule of rotations with one clinical supervisor per rotation.
Rotations may include but are not limited to General Medical and Surgical units, Hematology/Oncology, Orthopedics, Neuroscience/Neurosurgery, Rehabilitation, Emergency Department, and Intensive Care units (Cardiovascular, Neonatal, Pediatric, and Burn). Child life interns may be assigned rotations that include evenings, weekends, and holidays.
To be eligible for Arkansas Children's Child Life Internship, applicants must have:
For additional information or questions regarding child life, please contact Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock at 501-364-1412 or Arkansas Children’s Northwest by calling 479-725-6800.
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