Stefano’s Stories: helping kids be kids

March 2022

Being a kid in hospital can be a bummer, but eight-year-old Pacey – who has spent more time at HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital than any child should – has wonderful memories from his time as a patient, thanks to a very special department.

Specialists on the Child Life team focus on helping kids like Pacey just be kids when they’re in the hospital. They are experts in children’s emotional and developmental needs and help kids cope with uncertainty. Child Life programming offers play, music and art to help kids work through how they are feeling and provide welcome distraction from sickness. Child Life specialists also use medical play and education to help prepare kids for what they may experience during their stay, like having an MRI or a surgery.

Play is critical to a child’s development and healing, and the incredible work of the Child Life team has never been more important than during the pandemic, when kids like Pacey have had to be isolated and without visitors other than a parent or primary caregiver.

You can imagine the difference playing, fun and silliness makes for Pacey, who has now had more than 30 surgeries for intestinal failure. In 2020 alone, he spent a six-week stretch in hospital that included both his birthday and Christmas. (You can learn more about Pacey’s experiences and meet his remarkable, resilient family at goodbear.ca/pacey).

When Pacey is in the hospital, he spends about two hours a day in the playroom, participates in Children’s Hospital TV (CHTV, the hospital’s own television station, broadcast free to every child’s room), and does other activities organized by the Child Life team. His mom says that no matter how terrible his day might be, he looks forward to having that special time just having these “normal” experiences. He can just be a kid.

An important part of play and the work of the Child Life team is to give kids tools and opportunities to make choices and direct how and what they play. This is incredibly meaningful in a setting like a hospital where kids often don’t have much control. We are grateful to this very special group of people for having such a significant and positive impact on kids’ experiences.

Child Life programming is supported 100 percent by generous donations from our community. We need donors like you to ensure Child Life team members can play, provide music therapy, put on fun programs like the Good Day Show on CHTV, organize arts and crafts, and read stories.

March is Child Life month. To support this incredible team and the difference they make for kids like Pacey, click here.