What is a child life specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

A child life specialist works in a hospital or healthcare setting and focuses on improving the emotional well-being of children and families during medical procedures. They use play therapy, education, and other techniques. Child life specialists work as part of a healthcare team to provide support and guidance to children and their families. Their goal is to make the hospital experience less stressful and more positive for children and their families.

What general advice would you give to a Child Life Specialist?

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

Chair of Education; Associate Professor of Education, Elms College

History is ever-changing, and teachers must clarify how current events are just as much a part of the study of history as any other socio-political period or event. If you are not comparing the civil rights movement of today to the ongoing civil rights movements of the past, and if you are not supporting the campaign against oppression and institutional racism upon which our nation was built, then you are doing continuous harm to those who need you to act and disrupt the cycle. History teachers better be ready to be activists, not just teachers, or else you are perpetuating the status quo.

ScoreChild Life SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $55,201

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.9

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.82%

Asian 7.01%

Black or African American 10.23%

Hispanic or Latino 15.59%

Unknown 4.86%

White 60.49%

Gender

female 75.07%

male 24.93%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.1

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Child Life Specialist?

Pros

Opportunities for creativity and innovation in supporting children's coping and development
Collaborative work with interdisciplinary healthcare teams
Flexibility in work settings and roles within child life practice
Job stability and growth
Ability to advocate for children's needs within healthcare systems

Cons

High stress environment with potentially long hours and irregular schedules
Need for ongoing education and training to stay current in child life practice
Difficulty managing workload and balancing administrative tasks with direct patient care
Difficulty establishing boundaries between personal and professional life given the intense emotional demands of the job
Financial constraints on healthcare systems may limit availability of child life services

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Key steps to become a child life specialist

Explore child life specialist education requirements

Most common child life specialist degrees

Bachelor's

67.3 %

Master's

10.9 %

Associate

10.0 %

Start to develop specific child life specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	25.22%
Child Development	8.60%
Patient Care	8.52%
Child Life Services	5.20%
Social Work	4.83%

Complete relevant child life specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New child life specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a child life specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real child life specialist resumes.

Research child life specialist duties and responsibilities

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.

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