Pediatrician Arash Babaoff has extensive experience working alongside child life specialists across a variety of settings and throughout the world. He works at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Medical Director of Yanez Barragan Ecuador Project, and a member of the Pediatric Board and Quality Assurance Task Force with Operation Smile International as well as member of our Advisory Council.
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To Celebrate Child Life Month, we asked healthcare professional Arash Babaoff about child life specialists
You are supporters — you come and meet the child at their level and on their terms, allowing the child to feel a degree of control/strength/support in an unfamiliar and often scary environment.
You are child development specialists — translators/portals of understanding — communicating and facilitating communication and relationships with children for other specialists on a team– you know them and speak their language.
You are educators — introducing and teaching them about a new world (often an adult one) in which they will be interacting.
You are the “environment specialists” — molding the physical environment to one in which children and their families can enjoy and feel comfortable.
You are the ” context specialists” — molding the mental environment – creating the setting such that it can be understandable/comfortable at their level and as much as possible on their own terms.
You are family specialists — understanding the family dynamic- supporting and bringing families to understanding a new and often scary setting.
You are advocates — for the children and their families.
You are playmates — creating fun and laughter- alleviating anxiety and minimizing pain.
You are empathy incarnate.
This is how I view child life specialists…I rely on you and I’m thankful to have you as my partners and teammates in caring for children and their families.