Archive for child life
How to encourage your child to wear a mask for COVID-19 protection
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone older than age 2 wear a face covering in public unless they have significant breathing problems. Whether you’re coming to the hospital for an appointment or are simply trying to enjoy more time outdoors, your child will likely need wear a mask in public. ... Read More about How to encourage your child to wear a mask for COVID-19 protection
Help your kids stay busy and happy at home during COVID-19 shutdowns
With schools closed and many parents working from home, it can be a challenge to keep kids both busy and relaxed. For tips on how to help your child deal with cabin fever, we turned to Jill Twomey-McLaughlin and her colleagues in Child Life Services at Boston Children’s Hospital. Relax body and mind Add the ... Read More about Help your kids stay busy and happy at home during COVID-19 shutdowns
Relationship talks: Staying together through a child’s illness
Among the many stresses of having an ill or injured child, parents often feel a strain on their marriage. Whenever she can, clinical social worker Katherine Preston, LICSW, reassures families that a child’s illness does not automatically spell the end of the parents’ relationship. Based on studies of families facing childhood cancer and diabetes, Preston ... Read More about Relationship talks: Staying together through a child’s illness
Not home for the holidays? How you can help inpatient families
There’s nothing like being home for the holidays. But for families with a child in the hospital, being home might be a distant dream. As a friend or family member, you may wonder what you can do to make the holidays a little brighter. For ideas, we turned to those who have been there before ... Read More about Not home for the holidays? How you can help inpatient families
Staff Spotlight: Meet Andrea Lerude
Andrea Lerude is a certified child life specialist on the inpatient neuroscience floor at Boston Children’s Hospital. She’s worked at Boston Children’s for more than five years. What does your job involve? As a child life specialist, I provide developmentally appropriate coping support to children in the hospital, in the form of play. Basically, I ... Read More about Staff Spotlight: Meet Andrea Lerude