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What does a child life specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.

The job of a child life specialist is to help children and their families navigate the process of injury, illness, trauma, hospitalization, and disability. These health care professionals perform varied duties that include helping children and their families better understand the procedure and process of their medical experience. They also work on developing strategies to lessen the trauma and improve their understanding of a diagnosis by providing support, guidance, and information to family members. They are also expected to work closely with other members of the health care team in coordinating and managing care.

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Child life specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real child life specialist resumes:

  • Observe activities and respond accordingly including emergency situations such as evacuation, CPR, or first aid.
  • Experience working with kids diagnose with bipolar, schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, depression among other disorders.
  • Provide valuable technical assistance to early childhood educators seeking resources on developing quality childcare environment.
  • Detail knowledge of Medicare and Medicaid programs.
  • Compile monthly statistical data on ADL caseload progress.
  • Exhibit patience, care, and compassion towards others.
  • Develop and star in a surgery preparation video for children.
  • Complete daily documentation, yearly ISP assessment, unit billing.
  • Monitor and supervise DCF youth in a safe home environment.
  • Conduct interviews and train all new hires on ABA methods ,
  • Maintain separate caseload of patients for treatment of intensive ADL issues.
  • Adhere to CCS treatment philosophies and attend team meetings and in-services.
  • Facilitate broad range of supportive interventions with families and patients facing a life-threatening, life-limiting or life-ending illness or injury.
  • Utilize developmentally appropriate language to educate patients and families about diagnoses and procedures in the infectious disease and general pediatrics unit.
  • Prepare children for surgery by using play as an intervention to help them understand their hospital experience.

Child life specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 25% of Child Life Specialists are proficient in Patients, Child Development, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Problem-solving skills, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Child Life Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 25%

    Utilized developmentally appropriate language to educate patients and families about diagnoses and procedures in the infectious disease and general pediatrics unit.

  • Child Development, 9%

    Provide education to colleagues on child development issues and age-appropriate interactions.

  • Patient Care, 9%

    Delivered direct patient care to children and families in acute pediatric and hematology/oncology inpatient settings.

  • Child Life Services, 5%

    Provided family-centered child life services to hospitalized children, birth through adolescence in the Emergency Department.

  • Social Work, 5%

    Collaborated effectively with interdisciplinary team members such as Social Work, Chaplaincy, Case Managers, Clinical Advisors and ICU managers.

  • CCLS, 4%

    Collaborated with outpatient hematology/oncology CCLS to provide comprehensive care.

"patients," "child development," and "patient care" are among the most common skills that child life specialists use at work. You can find even more child life specialist responsibilities below, including:

Organizational skills. One of the key soft skills for a child life specialist to have is organizational skills. You can see how this relates to what child life specialists do because "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." Additionally, a child life specialist resume shows how child life specialists use organizational skills: "provide coaching for organizational skills and household management. "

Problem-solving skills. Another essential skill to perform child life specialist duties is problem-solving skills. Child life specialists responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." Child life specialists also use problem-solving skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "worked with project epic consultant and other project managers on work flow analysis tracked and resolved issues as they arose. "

Communication skills. This is an important skill for child life specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how child life specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a child life specialist: "facilitated communication and collaborated with various local medical and mental health providers, and community partners. ".

Compassion. child life specialist responsibilities often require "compassion." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." This resume example shows what child life specialists do with compassion on a typical day: "care and compassion are also key traits i bring to the workforce. "

Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a child life specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what child life specialists relies on this skill, since "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." How this skill relates to child life specialist duties can be seen in an example from a child life specialist resume snippet: "initiate and facilitate daily living skill development groups and interpersonal skill development for homeless and runaway youth residing at the facility. "

Most common child life specialist skills

The three companies that hire the most child life specialists are:

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Compare different child life specialists

Child life specialist vs. Case worker

Caseworkers are social workers who watch over the welfare of underprivileged individuals and at-risk families by counseling and providing them with assistance. Usually employed under the government or a local non-profit organization, a caseworker must conduct a thorough interview and house visits to determine the needs of the family. They then refer them to any programs or agencies that can give them the specific care and help needed. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify neglect and abuse signs, reporting them to the authorities right away.

If we compare the average child life specialist annual salary with that of a case worker, we find that case workers typically earn a $13,742 lower salary than child life specialists make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both child life specialist and case worker positions are skilled in patients, social work, and mental health.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, child life specialist responsibilities require skills like "child development," "patient care," "child life services," and "ccls." Meanwhile a typical case worker has skills in areas such as "substance abuse," "child abuse," "customer service," and "intake assessments." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, case workers reach similar levels of education than child life specialists. Case workers are 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Child life specialist vs. Service counselor

Service counselors provide guidance to couples, individuals, groups, and families who are going through issues that influence their well-being and mental health. They comprehensively approach their clients by utilizing a "wellness" model that focuses on and motivate the client's potentials. Their duties include inspiring clients to talk about their emotions and experiences, helping them determine their action plans and goals, as well as designing therapeutic methods. Also, they may refer their clients to other services or psychologists.

Service counselor positions earn lower pay than child life specialist roles. They earn a $19,799 lower salary than child life specialists per year.A few skills overlap for child life specialists and service counselors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "patients," "social work," and "mental health. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real child life specialist resumes. While child life specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "child development," "patient care," "child life services," and "ccls," service counselors use skills like "social services," "substance abuse," "customer service," and "emergency situations."

In general, service counselors achieve similar levels of education than child life specialists. They're 4.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for child life specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Lesley Casarez Ph.D.Lesley Casarez Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University

Graduates will need to learn to use technology in which virtual platforms are taking place and web conferencing platforms. Numerous platforms are being used, so the particular platform itself is not as crucial as being well-versed in how virtual education differs from face-to-face environments. Typically, the instructional role in online learning is more of a facilitator, as the educator guides the students to think critically, integrate, and apply new knowledge. This may be difficult for educators who would rather stand in front of a classroom and pass on their knowledge through lecture-based formats. Additionally, being well-versed in various web conferencing platforms will benefit graduates, as they move into a career that is currently requiring communication in virtual environments.

Child life specialist vs. Family support worker

A family service worker is a social service agent who assesses the needs of family and promotes wellbeing, social justice, and human rights through governmental and social service agencies. Family service workers offer services that can include counseling and mediation to families that will help them navigate the protocols of the social system. They act as liaisons between families facing problems and different government organizations. Family service workers also ensure that families in need are getting the benefits they are entitled to, as well as help them access various community resources.

On average scale, family support workers bring in lower salaries than child life specialists. In fact, they earn a $16,994 lower salary per year.child life specialists and family support workers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "child development," "social work," and "emotional support," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a child life specialist is likely to be skilled in "patients," "patient care," "child life services," and "ccls," while a typical family support worker is skilled in "family support," "family services," "behavior management," and "protective services."

When it comes to education, family support workers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to child life specialists. In fact, they're 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Child life specialist vs. Community support specialist

A community support specialist is responsible for supporting and providing care services for citizens with mental health conditions and other medical illnesses. Community support specialists coordinate with organizations and health institutions to generate resources that would help the patients in their daily activities, medications, and treatment plans. They also strategize community events and activities to observe the patients' social and personal behaviors and endorse them to a mental health professional for in-depth examination and counseling.

Community support specialists typically earn lower pay than child life specialists. On average, community support specialists earn a $15,881 lower salary per year.According to resumes from child life specialists and community support specialists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "social work," "emotional support," and "cpr. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between child life specialists and community support specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a child life specialist might have more use for skills like "patients," "child development," "patient care," and "child life services." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of community support specialists require skills like "substance abuse," "direct services," "severe mental illness," and "social services. "

Community support specialists reach similar levels of education compared to child life specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 2.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of child life specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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