
Bonding over books
There is much positive press on the beneficial effects that reading to children can have on language development, cognition and social-emotional development. I have posted articles before on this blog regarding the use of bibliotherapy in helping children express their emotions but have not yet touched on what the seemingly simple act of reading can provide for a child and caregiver. Among the chaos, fear and uncertainty that accompanies an unexpected crisis such as hospitali

Doctors and Nurses and Therapists, Oh My!
When a child is hospitalized, the medical environment and all the new people that will interact with that child can be overwhelming. Every new face is someone that child has to get to know and trust. Any child life specialist knows that establishing rapport is important when providing support to a child and family as is helping the child feel more comfortable in the hospital. Here are a couple of activities that could be helpful in breaking the ice and normalizing the environ