by Jamie Droke
Child Life Specialist

While some of us might remember learning how to play a certain game as a child, I can bet that no one remembers learning how to play. Play is something that children just know how to do, even as infants. Of course the play of an infant is very different from the play of a teenager, but the purposes of play remain the same. It has been said that play is the work of childhood. In the same way that adults work some kind of job, children work too in the form of play. A vast majority of what we do as child life specialists somehow involves play and the reason for this is not just because children need to be entertained. Of course it is true that play helps keep children occupied and happier, but this is certainly not the most important reason that children need to play. In fact, this reason is a long way down on a long list.

In a report published in 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics gives several purposes of play. Of course, not every benefit on the list is attained through every type of play, and I will cover types of play and their benefits in the next post I write. So, let’s start by looking at some of the purposes or benefits of play as outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics:

• Play is an outlet for a child’s creativity.
• Play assists the development of physical, cognitive, and emotional strength.
• Play is the way in which a child engages and interacts with the world.
• Play gives a child the chance to master an environment.
• Play helps a child adapt and adjust to a new setting.
• Play gives a child a safe way to face and conquer fears.
• Play improves confidence.
• Play builds resiliency.
• Play builds secure relationships between playmates.
• Play is a communication tool for a child who cannot figure out how to express him or herself verbally.

If you think closely about this list (which is by no means all-inclusive), you can see that there are few other activities in which children can engage to attain these benefits. And of course there is the benefit that play is enjoyable to children. In fact, to discipline children, we often suspend a child’s play. Discipline is important and should not be left to chance, but don’t make your child go without play for too long. When they are not playing, they are missing out on so many opportunities for growth and expression. Next time I will give you the scoop on the types of play and how to encourage all of the different types of play for your child.

Editor's Note: During a recent staff discussion, we realized that each of had a favorite "child life" memory. This led us to ask various staff members to share one of their favorite child life memories. Our first in the series is written by Lauren McCann, who's discussing her decision to go into the field.

By Lauren McCann
Child Life Manager

One of my favorite child life moments goes all the way back to college when I learned about this amazing career.  It was the second semester of my sophomore year and I still had not declared a major.  I was interested in the medical field, but didn’t feel the calling to be a nurse and could not imagine going to school for as long as it took to be a doctor.  I also definitely wanted to work with children, but knew in my heart that I did not have the patience to be a teacher.  So I basically spent the first year and a half of college taking the required courses and also taking classes the peaked my interest, such as child development and adolescent psychology.

One day, I overheard (or eavesdropped) the conversation of a senior sorority sister talking about her major.  It was all about working with children to help them overcome their fears/anxieties while in the hospital.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!  I quickly jumped into the conversation and asked her as many questions as she could stand.  When the conversation was over, I knew I had found my calling.  The very next morning, I went to my university’s registrar’s office and declared my major, Human Development and Family Studies with a focus in Child Life.  

I guess this is one of my favorite moments because this is when Child Life entered my life.  After that moment, every educational and career decision I made was all about how I could be the best Child Life Specialist I could be.  Child Life is my heart and I am so thankful for how nosy I was that day and how it changed my life!

Editor's Note: I Kid You Not is a regular column on More Than Medicine, where Lauren shares her experiences of wearing both the hat of a child life specialist and a mother.

by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

There’s nothing like severe weather to rattle everything, figuratively and literally. Like many other people around the area, I spent long parts of last night paying attention to the weather. As my own children asked a great deal of questions about the potential of the storm, I was reminded about how scary severe weather can be to children. 

If you child gets nervous about possible bad weather, here are some types to help:

• Learn about weather: Sure, we all remember being in school learning about sun and rain, but how much would you say you know now? Take some time for you and your child to learn about weather. Why does it rain? What are tornadoes? What is lightning? There is any number of ways to learn about it. The more your child understands about weather (and why it happens) the more secure they will feel. In the hospital, this is similar to how/why we prepare children for upcoming procedures. The more that is understood, the easier the overall experience.
• Have a plan and practice it: There are lots of time public service announcements and reminders to have a disaster plan and kit ready. So, if you don’t have one already, develop one with your child. This may involve them helping to put together a disaster kit and talking about where to go if there was a fire. Once you have a plan developed, practice it as a family. Children in school are already familiar with fire drills, so this should be similar. Giving your child a job to do helps to provide them with the control, which can help to ease fears.
• Make a game of it: So, bad weather has rolled around and you and your family are in their safe area. Well, what do now? Why not play a game. If there’s a particular game your family enjoys playing, than use that. If not, try making up a game. Also, be sure to include activities and things to do when pulling your supplies together. It may sound like extra work, but having everyone focused on an activity during a potentially stressful time.

There are a number of other things that you can do, especially if they will help your child. The bottom line is that anything you can do in advance will help your child feel calmer when severe weather is a possibility. Besides, you’ll be surprised how much better your feel about the situation.

by Fordell (age 14)
Le Bonheur Patient

Loves every patient

   makEs good scrambled eggs :)

     Blast off on the 10th floor.

    Other floors are nice too.

       No patient is left unsatisfied.

Hope fills there.      

           Every surgery patient gets a gift.

      YoU'll really love this hospital.

It helps you get thRough your rough time.                     

by Ginger Joe
School Teacher

What makes a child extraordinary?  C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R!  Who comes to my mind but dear Opie Taylor from the The Andy Griffith Show.  Remember the impact that Paw, Aunt Bee, and Barney had on Opie in the many situations he encountered? At home and at school your child was guided that same way in developing his character to help him learn the difference between right and wrong by helping him to focus on his actions, and how to interact with others. So, I ask what has happened to the character of our youth today?

Today’s pop culture spotlights self-destruction, negative role models, glorifies celebrity and the accumulation of wealth at all costs. All you have to do is just look at the results by picking up a newspaper or turning on your TV: escalating violence in schools, antisocial behavior, and the abrasive language of public dialogue. We all know about the three R's in education, but what’s happened to our three C’s:  courtesy, compassion, and common sense?

Teaching children to make smart choices will help them to become compassionate and loyal individuals, and can greatly reduce future problems they may develop or encounter. I believe good character can sweep potential minefields by imparting the building blocks of successful emotional growth of respect, responsibility, kindness, integrity, honesty, empathy, and leadership. If your child grows up to be a doctor but is greedy and uncaring, that advanced degree counts for very little, for we all would have failed miserably in nurturing a true human being.

I believe we should raise emotionally balanced, socially compassionate, and caring individuals with a solid value system. Remember the The Andy Griffith Show?  Now those were good solid values being taught there. Those shows made use of real life situations that society imposes on us to make impulsive decisions with bad repercussions. In fact, I remember one language arts teacher who taught an afterschool character education program using episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. I remembered those few kids and that one teacher was all our school needed to raise our character IQ. The school atmosphere gradually changed for the better; more smiles on everyone’s faces, less tension in the school building, and just an overall feeling of being accepted by everyone. Our emotional IQ was reaching new heights! 

We love our children and we care about their futures. We want to equip them with the tools to tackle life with gusto. This is a shared responsibility and we have to continue to inspire self-initiated action (e.g., the ability to say a heartfelt “No,” rather than mouthing off), promoted by healthy self–esteem, self-awareness, and personal accountability.  In order to meet the growing demands of our culture, we have to go beyond teaching basic academic skills and equip our teens to live peacefully in an age of exploding knowledge. Let’s continue to do our unsung part in developing and maintaining good character in our teens and ourselves. 

A true story to ponder:  I found a crumpled dollar bill on the cafeteria floor last Friday and asked people at the nearby tables if it was their money. Not one claimed it was theirs and so I without a second thought I took it to the cashier. I told the cashier I had found this money on the floor and no one around the tables had taken claim to it. The cashier excitedly exclaimed, “It’s yours! Just keep it.” Well my Opie Taylor instinct told me, no, I couldn't keep it for any reason and I just would not feel right keeping the money. So, I just handed it over to the cashier and left with a  “good feeling” on Friday the 13th.  Now, I ask you: “What do you think the cashier will do with the lost money?”

by Cassie Nash
Child Life Specialist

A while back I wrote about what I was learning in the book I was reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. Well, I am still intermittently reading it and thought I would give you some updates on what else I was learning.  

One chapter is all about communication.  In the Bible, in Deuteronomy chapter 6, it talks about communicating with your children while talking, sitting, walking, lying down, and when you rise! That's a lot of opportunities for communication. I want to encourage you to not have all of your times of communication with your children when something is wrong. Tripp says, "A regular habit of talking together prepares the way for talking in strained situations. You will never have the hearts of your children if you talk with them only when something has gone wrong." This is crucial if/when hospitalization time comes. 

As a child life specialist, part of my job is not only to help prepare patients and families for tests and procedures, but to help them get through those tests and procedures. It is absolutely wonderful when patients have relationships with their caregivers so that when the time comes to have an IV placed or to have a lumbar puncture we are all there to help and love on the child. 

Children need to know that their caregivers love them, and children need to trust their caregivers. I think that love and trust can be established with communication and lots of it! Tripp also says, "You undertake the shepherding process through rich and multifaceted communication." I have noticed that when it comes time to do a procedure, the patients and families that have a lifestyle of having "shepherding" communication tend to do better. So talk with your children and talk with them often!

by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

On December 18, 2011, we celebrated the blog’s second birthday. It’s hard to believe, but More Than Medicine is has turned two years old.  On December 18, 2009, this blog launched quietly, and has been churning along ever since.  As I write this, it is our 324th post and we’re still going strong. If there’s a topic you’d like to see us cover over the next year, leave us a comment and we’ll work it in.

Now, how will we be celebrating our second (and belated) birthday?  I imagine it’ll be just like a normal two-year-old’s birthday.  We’ll invite family and friends over and cook out.  In the end, we’ll probably get tired and need to take a nap or else have a meltdown.

Oh, and if we were actually turning two, our developmental milestones would look like this:

• Climbing up and down stairs
• Play alongside our friends (parallel play)
• Play with more complex toys
• Have emotional attachment to specific objects or toys
• Speak with two phrases
• Name several body parts
• About half of our speech is understandable

Yep, that sounds about right for us…

Thank you to all of our readers for sticking with us throughout our two years.  We've had a lot of growth, and really hit our stride. We’re looking forward to everything that this next year will bring for More Than Medicine.

by Cassie Nash
Child Life Specialist

Here at Le Bonheur, we love to ask questions! Not only to provide adequate medical care, but adequate psychosocial care. One of our favorite questionnaires is  called, "All About Me".  I had a very sweet time getting to know Kayla and her mom as they told me "all about" themselves!

My name is: Kayla Dawn Lutz.

I really liked to be called: Kayla.

My birthday is: March 3.

The people I live with are: My mom, dad, and sister Alicia. 

I am in the 8th grade.

What I do best is: I am a good student, and I am responsible.

My favorite sport to play is: Soccer.

My favorite games are: Just Dance, Yatzee, and Dominoes.

My favorite activity is: Reading. 

My favorite movie is: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Famous people I like are: The Twilight Characters, Ashley Green, and Keelan Lutz… I wonder if I am related to him somehow!!!!!

My favorite colors are: Blue and purple.

My favorite pets are: My cat "Hershey".  She scratches everyone but me! :)

Something I hope to do one day is: Become a nurse.

Things that make me happy are: Family.

Things that I do not like are: Green vegetables and having to clean my room.

This is my 8th time in the hospital, but first time at Le Bonheur.

I am here because:  I am throwing up and have stomach pain. 

What's really special about me (medical or non-medical) is: The ability to think things through before I do them.

If I could have any super hero's power, it would be: Invisibility and being able to read minds.

My  hidden talents are: I can sing!

If I could have any job for one day, it would be:  A surgeon.

The best part of being in the hospital is: The caring staff. From the Family Resource Center lady to the chaplains, they have all taken extra steps to take care of me.

What helps me when I am in the hospital is: My mom.

When I asked Kayla and her mom if there was anything else they wanted to tell our readers, they said, "We feel very blessed to be here. We feel like they are going to find out what is wrong. We are going to get better here!" 

by Cassie Nash
Child Life Specialist

I love to cook, and I love my husband and nephews. It was so much fun the other night when these lovely things all combined. My sister and her husband went out of town, so my husband and I went from having no kids to two kids! Dinner time rolled around, and it was time to eat. It took all four of us to get a little meal prepared, and we had a blast. Let's just say we got a lot done. We cooked, did some exercise, and got lots of giggles at what all ended up in the sink! (See pictures :) This little adventure in the kitchen taught me a lot, so I thought I would share. 

1. Let the child in your life be involved in the preparation. The meal might get a bit random, but as long as the meal is somewhat balanced and nutritious, be flexible and welcome creativity within reason. You probably won't see pizza with a side black eyed peas on a restaurant's menu, but this is a great opportunity for your child to learn how to make choices.  At Le Bonheur we love to give our patients and families choices when we can. For example, it's not a choice about whether or not the patient takes their medicine, but they may choose whether they swallow it with grape or apple juice. 

2. BE CAREFUL. You must clearly communicate if a pot is going to be hot, or about a knife that might be sharp. When it came time to stir the black eyed peas, I told my nephew he could pick out the spoon with which I stirred, but I had to do the stirring. The water was boiling, and I didn't want him to get burned. I certainly didn't want him to become one of my patients! I love him and all, but certainly want to keep our time together away from the hospital! 

3. Don't forget to have fun (I cracked up laughing when my husband had put both of the boys in the sink) and incorporate life lessons (just like your muscles need food to help you grow strong, your muscles need exercise like chin ups on the chin up bar to also grow strong!)

The meal turned out great, and we had some sweet family time together at the dinner table. If you happen to find yourself at Le Bonheur (as a patient or visiting a loved one) around dinner time, please feel free to enjoy dinner together as a family. We have family rooms, equipped  with tables, chairs, refrigerators, and microwaves, on every unit and even the family resource center is a great spot to make the hospital feel a bit more like home.

by Stephanie Kellough
Child Life Activity Coordinator

The Creative Arts Room is a space where our patients and families can leave their worries at the door and be as creative as they want.  Our Creative Arts Room is located on the 9th floor and is open to all patients and their family members each and every day.  Each day a Child Life Activity Coordinator or Volunteer lead the patients and families in a creative activity. These activities can range anywhere from painting an x-ray to building a birdhouse to making a get well banner for their loved ones.  

The Creative Arts Room is also utilized by our Child Life Specialists.  They use this room for all sorts of special projects.  Whether they need to make a birthday banner to help a child celebrate their birthday in the hospital or help a child with their fears of medical equipment by using medical supplies as an art medium.  Child Life Specialists also spend time in this room working on projects that are unique to their patient population. 

Our Creative Arts Room as well as our other programmatic areas, is considered a “safe area”.  By being deemed a “safe area”, no medical procedures, medical speech, or medical exams can take place in this room.  Since our patients and families have to deal with these occurrences throughout the day, we want to provide a place for them to leave those cares at the door.  

If you would like to donate any art items to our Creative Arts Room, please schedule a donation drop-off by calling 901-287-6021.  We accept all new and unused art supplies, such as crayons, art kits, coloring pencils, scissors, glue, etc.  

by Jenny Shelton
Child Life Manager

What's one of your favorite family holiday traditions? 

by Rachel Franklin
Child Life Specialist

Each day, children are scheduled for appointments in Fluoroscopy, a division of diagnostic imaging within LeBonheur Children’s Hospital’s Radiology Department. Procedures in fluoroscopy involve a series of "live" X-Ray images or images "in motion". Images are transmitted to a screen that allows our medical staff to look at the function of various body systems or organs as they are working (as opposed to procedures that result in only stationary or "static" pictures). Common procedures in Fluoroscopy include exams such as upper gastrointestinal imaging (Upper GI) or esophograms, barium enemas, and voiding cystourethrograms.

Important Helpful 'Basics' for Your Fluoroscopy Visit:

Meet your team: Your first stop will be at our Radiology front desk area on the ground floor. These team members are great resources for you if you have any questions as you are arriving for your visit. 

Getting started: Next, you’ll meet our technologists (shown on right). Our child life specialist are also available to meet you and your child to offer procedural preparation, support for coping, assistance in minimizing possible stress and anxiety associated with the procedure, and to promote normalization and comfort for you and your child. 

Teamwork: In fluoroscopy, we believe in the crucial roles of trust and partnership throughout our procedures. We welcome the active involvement of both you and your child in creating the smoothest and most positive experience possible during your visit. 

Helping you focus on your child: We see our patients benefiting from their parents’ or caregivers’ attention and support throughout various phases of the visit. When possible, we encourage you to bring only the child scheduled for the procedure, refraining from bringing additional siblings or young family members to the hospital on the day of your child's procedure. This allows you to focus on your child and give them your uninterrupted attention and support. 

Some parents or caregivers wonder about the following:

Will my child be awake or asleep throughout the procedure? As we will be looking at the function of an organ or body system, it is important for us to be able to watch the natural function as it typically occurs. When your child is awake, we are often able to learn more about your child's situation. In light of this, your child may be awake throughout her procedure. 

Am I allowed to be with my child during the procedure? As familiar and trusted people in a child’s life, we welcome caregivers to be present with their child throughout portions of or the entire procedure, as is safe and appropriate. 

If I can be in the procedure room, would it be okay for me to just watch? How involved can I be with my child? Each child and caregiver may have a different preference for that which makes them feel most comfortable throughout a procedure. As our staff is dedicated to family-centered care, we want to find out about that which feels helpful to you as we complete the procedure as comfortably and appropriately as possible. On the day of your visit, we welcome your partnership and discussion of options for you in supporting your child in direct or indirect ways. 

How long does it take? Each procedure is different. The length of your child’s procedure may vary depending on several factors including the specific exam ordered, you and your child’s familiarity and comfort, your information needs, and your child’s coping style. 

Are there any pinches, pokes, or needles associated with the procedures? In Fluoroscopy, there are no needles! Hooray! 

Can we bring comfort items from home? Yes! Bringing a comfort item is a great idea. Some children enjoy snuggling with their favorite blanket or stuffed animal during the exam. Some enjoy playing with their favorite toy car on the scanning bed. Some children enjoy listening to their favorite music, playing games on an I-Pad or phone, or bringing their favorite DVD to watch on our player! 

Remember, we're here for you! A very important part of our role as staff committed to family-centered care includes our desire to help your child and accompanying family members through your upcoming experience. Ask questions. Share your ideas and insight. We want you to be a true part of our team. 

by Ginger Joe
School Teacher

Your child’s sitting on the edge of his seat awaiting the last school bell to ring for the 2011 semester and in their minds they’re thinking:

A time to relax, a time to be free,

A time to chill out, a time to be me

A time for everything I couldn't do at school

A time for every purpose for these two weeks to be cool.

I can imagine some of them are thinking they’ll just sleep and watch TV all day. But wait don’t let them fall through the cracks that easily!  I believe the most important thing to remember is to keep your child active and engaged in something during their 2 weeks off from school. Life is too short to be spent sleeping or watching TV all day.  I’m not knocking that sleep isn’t good for your child but sleeping the entire day for 2 weeks seems a bit much and time ill spent. Also, I have nothing against watching TV, but I do limit myself to no more than 3 hours a day. I have my favorite programs that I watch, Bones, Crossing Jordan, Long Island Medium, DYI, Facing Trauma, Bizarre ER, House Hunters, Cake Boss, Iron Chef, Restaurant Impossible, 20 Kids and Counting, The Little Couple, etc. But to spend the entire day as a couch potato puts young growing minds into a vegetative mode. You as parents have the privilege and responsibility to share the world with your child during this Winter Break. 

Don’t forget that with technology at our hands the world is easily accessible for learning 24/7—web quests, virtual tours, etc. In our digital age, kids are more technologically savvy, which is why a lot of educational computer games and video games have been designed to teach children basic concepts such as strategy, the importance of team work, along with enhancing focus and concentration. No matter how much you may be against it, video games are engaging and increase focus among those who use them. It is this engaging quality that is now utilized by game designers worldwide to impart education by a medium that is fun. Puzzles, games that increase word power, games that improve memory power, that teach complex scientific concepts in a simple manner, are all available to help kids enhance their learning. That’s why when kids come to my hospital classroom we utilize the computer as much as possible to keep learning exciting and motivating. 

I realize you can’t force your child to do something, but you can guide them and provide them with opportune learning experiences. You don’t have to be rich to provide quality time with your kids, just a golden heart. The important thing to remember as parents is that you are the most important teachers in your child's life—whew that’s a load off of me. Children are born eager to learn, but you as parents need to help them channel that learning. Children who have a broad foundation of knowledge and background on a variety of subjects will find school and learning easier and more interesting than those who do not. So find time to enjoy your kids during this Winter Break. Go out and try something new together!

Learning how to get the best from children can be very rewarding and also very empowering. Witnessing children's behavior being very positive and knowing we have raised them to grow into happy, intelligent, well adjusted teens and adults, is the ultimate goal for all of us. After all learning theorists agree that we learn and retain more through meaningful experiences and not just through osmosis with textbook materials. So, how can we keep that continuous learning going and not drive ourselves mental in feeling guilty? I came across these two great websites: 

• Top 10 Educational Winter Break Activities for Elementary and Middle Schoolers
• Educational Winter Break Activities for Teens 

Remember, it’s all up to you. 

No time to feel down and blue.

You’ve gotta  plan for something do.

There are many young minds 

Ready to blossom into great Einsteins

Find time for your child this season

Encourage him to learn for all the right reasons.

by Jamie Droke
Child Life Specialist

While most child life specialist spend most of their days working with children on coping with being in the hospital, I have the privilege of spending most of my days working with parents on coping with their child being in the hospital. I am the child life specialist for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and most of my patients either don’t feel well enough to engage in coping techniques or are sedated for most of their PICU stay. So my role focuses more on the coping of parents and siblings. Over the time I have been working in the PICU, I have noticed several very different coping strategies that parents and siblings use to deal with their child or sibling being in the hospital.

• Withdrawal: Have you ever asked someone how they are and they say they are fine? And yet, you know just by the look on their face that they are anything but fine? These families tend to not want to discuss their worries and fears and instead will say anything to make you believe they are okay.
• Family Support: Some families who are not close to one another before a hospitalization can become very close during a time of difficulty. These families learn to lean on one another to help care for everyday things like laundry, meals, and picking the other kids up from school.
• Faith: During a difficult time, many parents turn to their faith and spend their time in prayer, meditation, or reading the scriptures. For these families a visit from a chaplain or a pastor can be extremely helpful.
• Question-Asking: Some parents find it very helpful to have as much information as possible even if the information does not directly relate to their child. These parents will ask nurses and doctors countless questions to get their answers.
• Avoidance: These parents tend to busy themselves with anything other than the matter at hand. If they have a sick child, perhaps they visit for a short amount of time and then leave to go take care of things at home. Perhaps they remain at the hospital but spend their time away from the bedside because it is too difficult for them to remain there.
• Humor: This is my personal favorite because I do believe that laughter is the best medicine. These families use humor to make it through each day. Sometimes their humor is a mask to cover their hurt and sometimes it is instead an indication of their ability to cope.

There is no right or wrong way to cope and this is by no means an all-inclusive list. Many parents seem to utilize some combination of these strategies to make it through each day. It is however to know your coping strategies and for those who cope through withdrawal or avoidance, it is important to know when to ask for help so that you can somehow deal with the situation at hand.