by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

Here we are in the second week of March, and we are still celebrating Child Life Month.  This week are focusing on games, which are a great form of play.  So, I thought I would take a chance to talk about one of the organizations that we work with to help us to let families play.

The name of that organization is Child's Play.  Their beginning comes from the gang at Penny Arcade in 2003.  They began working with children's hospitals to provide toys and games for the patients treated there. Child's Play has brought together the gamer community from all across the internet. 

Le Bonheur Children's has been working with Child's Play for a while now, and they have been a real life saver for us.  One of the hardest things for us to keep enough of is video games, and Child's Play has been a true hero for Le Bonheur Children's.  There have been several times our staff has commented that they don't know what they would do with out them.

Child's Play has done an excellent job of messaging and organizing people to help meet the individual needs of each children's hospital enrolled.  As a matter of fact, they even have a specific page for Le Bonheur Children's.  On top of the wish list, there are lots of other great things that they do.  Be sure to check out there website for a better understanding of all they do.

So, from all of the patients and families that have been helped and the entire Child Life Department at Le Bonheur Children's, thank you Child's Play for all of the great things that you do.

by Stephanie Kellough
Child Life Assistant

It’s true that in March Le Bonheur Children’s celebrates Child Life Month.  It’s also true that in Child Life, we are all about education, empowerment, advocacy, and family support. We aim to meet patients and families where there needs are, and  that means being ready with any number of services.

In addition to all of those listed above, Le Bonheur Children’s Child Life Services strongly believe in the power of play.  It is the serious work of childhood, after all!  We believe in play so much that an entire week of Child Life Month is dedicated to it. So, welcome to the second week of March, or as we like to call it…Game Week!

One of the biggest activities during Game Week is Game-A-Palooza.  This year marks the third annual Game-A-Palooza, and needless to say, we are so pumped for it!  Game-A-Palooza is a giant game that is geared towards the patient and their family.  It is similar to The Price is Right. 

Patients and their family members become our contestants and are invited to “Come on down”.  We then play a series of games ranging from Pictionary to Charades to Tic Tac Toe Trivia.  Everyone who comes down gets a chance to play our games and everyone walks away a winner!  Even the patients who can’t come out of their rooms, for various reasons, get to watch on our CCTV.  It’s such a fun day and we are hoping for our biggest turnout ever. 

Child Life Services knows the important of play, and the role that it serves in the hospital experience.  Throughout the year we use play and games to teach about the hospital, to distract from the environment, or to even just have fun.  Everyone expects excellent care when they come to the hospital, and Child Life Services goes the extra effort to make sure that they can expect some fun too.

Since we established that play is important to children, I want to share a little about the role of play at Le Bonheur Children's.  If you've been reading along the way, I'm sure that you are aware that I am a big advocate for play (just ask my children).  However, my love of play goes much further than just having a good time.  In fact, Child Life Services is in the business of play.  We use it to assess how patients are coping with the hospital, to discover what they understand about procedures and treatments, to blow off steam, and to learn about various roles that exist in the play.  If play is how children explore their environment, than ¡viva la juega!

A great example is helping a patient, in the emergency department, to understand an upcoming IV start.  Before the procedure would even start, a child life specialist would talk with the patient, who I'll call Billy, and he's parents.  To help Billy know about the upcoming procedure, the child life specialist would offer Billy the opportunity to play being the doctor and start an IV on a teddy bear.  Then Billy would learned about the sights, sounds, smells, and overall experience of the procedure.  He would get to see, and manipulate, the actually medical equipment. (A toy is good, but the real thing is even better!)  Once Billy knew all of the steps, he would then start the IV with the assistance of the child life specialist.

Not only is this process play, but lots of information is gathered.  A question as simple as, "what should be do first, doctor?" can provide a wealth of insight.  A child life specialist can discover if the patient is being punish; will be held down, because of a pervious medical experience; or believe the needle is still in his arm (for the record, it's not).  All of this insight, gained through play, help the entire treatment team to address the patient and families psychological and social needs (or psychosocial, in hospital talk).

For Le Bonheur Children's, play is another way we help the overall wellbeing of our patients and families.

I was re-reading the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report on the importance of play in promoting child development the other day and it reminded me of just how important play is to children.  This should be no shock because children and play go together like peanut butter and jelly.  Children have been playing since the dawn of time, and my guess is it will continue to happen for a long time.

Play is important to how children learn social skills (i.e. turn taking), master environments and roles (i.e. playing school and being the teacher), and negotiating skills (i.e. 'let's play with the ball together instead of taking it from each other').  You can literally watch your children develop physically, cognitively, and emotionally through their play. I tend to view play as the serious work of childhood.  Here is an interesting article on development of play from Parent Magazine.

Free play is a great time to be active with your child.  You build your relationship, are helping your child learn, and both of you are being active.  Playing is a natural event, and is tremendously bonding, all you have to do is engage in it. Play along with their made up games, and you'll be surprised what will come from it.  One of my children's favorite game is Sweetie, where I am Sweetie and they are little mommy and little daddy. (I think you capitalize the S.  I'll have to ask them.)  Let them direct the play, and you'll be amazed with what your child can do.  Encourage them when they pretend to be you, or anyone else. 

My one warning:  don't over schedule your child.  Let them be a child, which means playing outside, getting dirt, and probably breaking something.  Children need the free time to grow, develop, and express themselves.

Sneak preview for tomorrow: Why play is important in the hospital.

Have you ever made a family New Year's Resolution?

I know what you're thinking, "My resolution is usually about getting healthier, and I ususally feel guilty within a couple of weeks, when I've broken it.  Why would I want to include my entire family in the misery?"  Speaking as someone who just set their own New Year's Resolution of losing weight, getting more exercise, and being healthier, I completely understand.

However, I would challenge you to think about including your family, especially your children in your plan.  Want some motivation, read the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's report on trends in childhood obesity.  That's enough to make you want to get out and run (even when no one is chasing you).

You are your child's best teacher and role model, and the behaviors that you are teaching them now will impact future behaviors.  So, is it a bad thing to teach your child about proper nutrition, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle?  Besides, the more encouragement (and accountability) you have, the more like to both you and your family will be successful.

Don't feel like you have to complete everything by the end of January.  Set more realistic goals, like taking walks, as a family, three or four times a week.  Or, eating a health dinner together at home, at the dinner table.  Besides a healthier lifestyle, you will be surprised how much more connected your family will feel.

I'm talking to some of our experts here at Le Bonheur Children's, and I'll continue an ongoing topic of New Year's Resolutions.  The topics will cover healthy eating, exercise, and other healthy lifestyles.  If there are other topics you would like covered just leave a comment, and I'll do my best to find the answer.