Child life professionals are health specialists who assist pediatric patients and families in coping with the stressors of illness, disability, and hospitalization. These hospital child development experts utilize play and other creative interventions in hospitals and medical facilities to lessen the fear, anxiety, and stress surrounding sickness, trauma, and hospital stays. They play a pivotal role in ensuring children’s convalescence and overall wellness. Certified Child Life Specialists, or CCLSs, become certified upon successfully passing the board test and completing other requirements.
How much money do Child life professionals make on average?
The following is the mean annual salary in the United States for Certified Child Life Specialists:
- CCLS, or Certified Child Life Specialist: $49,000 and $68,736 per annum
- Specialist in General Child Life: $59,768 annually
- Child Life Specialist in Specific Organizations: $60,309 per annum
- The BLS anticipates 7.8% employment growth in the community and social service occupational group from 2020 to 2030.
- Following are some average annual salaries for some career paths, which are also reflected in the chart below:
- Annual income for a clinical child life specialist: $53,433 to $67,000
- Therapists and counselors for youth and children: $61,034 to $76,532 annually
- Teachers or Advisors: Salary differs based on responsibility and position.
- The average annual salary for a child life specialist is between $53,433 and $67,000
- Healthcare Social Workers: $64,190 to $77,684 per year
- Private Practice: Salary varies based on experience, location, and services provided.
- The average annual salary for a child life specialist is between $53,433 and $67,000.
Which are the top 10 cities offering the highest child life specialist salaries?
Ten of the top cities where the average salary for a Child Life Specialist job is greater than the national average have been chosen. Mineral, Virginia, tops the list, with Scotts Valley, California, and Wasco, California, coming in second and third place. The national average is exceeded by 15874 in Wasco, CA, and another 25367 in Mineral, VA, both above the average of $55,951.
Because the average income in these ten cities is higher than the national average, there appear to be a lot of opportunities for financial advancement by relocation as a child life specialist.
You can find it difficult to see substantial income progress, however, considering that the average salary for these top 10 towns varies only by 19% from Mineral, Virginia, and Wyoming, Wyoming. The possible lower cost of living could factor into how to weigh location vs. compensation for a Child Life Specialist position.
| Location | Annual Earnings | Monthly Income | Weekly Income | Hourly Rate |
| Mineral, VA | $81,318 | $6,776 | $1,563 | $39.10 |
| Scotts Valley, CA | $72,406 | $6,033 | $1,392 | $34.81 |
| Wasco, CA | $71,825 | $5,985 | $1,381 | $34.53 |
| Nome, AK | $69,407 | $5,783 | $1,334 | $33.37 |
| Cupertino, CA | $69,030 | $5,752 | $1,327 | $33.19 |
| Berkeley, CA | $68,509 | $5,709 | $1,317 | $32.94 |
| Mill Valley, CA | $67,615 | $5,634 | $1,300 | $32.51 |
| Sitka, AK | $67,403 | $5,616 | $1,296 | $32.41 |
| San Bruno, CA | $66,844 | $5,570 | $1,285 | $32.14 |
| Wyoming, WY | $66,729 | $5,560 | $1,283 | $32.08 |
Which Highest Paying Related Child Life Specialist Jobs Are There in the United States
Five appropriate jobs were determined through research of comparable jobs to the Child Life Specialist career field. None, however, earn above the average of $55,951 for child life specialist positions. There are likely still options, however, to explore roles like Hospital Child Life Specialist, Virtual Child Life Specialist, or Union Child Life Specialist.
| Job Title | Annual Earnings | Monthly earnings | Weekly earnings | Hourly earnings |
| Hospital Child Life Specialist | $52,822 | $4,401 | $1,015 | $25.40 |
| Virtual Child Life Specialist | $52,594 | $4,382 | $1,011 | $25.29 |
| Union Child Life Specialist | $51,836 | $4,319 | $996 | $24.92 |
| Therapeutic Child Care Specialist | $49,885 | $4,157 | $959 | $23.98 |
| Coordinator Child Life Specialist | $46,899 | $3,908 | $901 | $22.55 |
What are the responsibilities and obligations of a child life expert on a day-to-day basis?
A child life specialist’s day-to-day tasks and responsibilities are as follows:
- Depending on the size of the child life program, performing administrative duties.
- Collaborating with the medical team to ensure children’s emotional and social requirements are addressed is referred to as advocating for young patients.
- Structuring play areas and providing games, toys, and other materials to make children less apprehensive about undergoing medical treatment.
- Regular separation, anxiety, worry, and difficulty adapting when hospitalized or receiving medical treatment.
- Making needles, doctors, and medical procedures less scary and more manageable.
- Play therapy refers to the utilization of art, play, and other activity-stimulating methods to assist children in the expression of feelings and maintaining their normal lives despite the treatment process.
- Facilitating support and age-specific preparation for surgeries and treatments.
- Providing children with age-specific diagnostic education will make them understand their condition.
- Offering trauma, bereavement, and grieving support to children.
- Educating and counseling parents and families emotionally, lessening their stress and anxiety by explaining medical procedures and diagnosis, creating a calm environment, and advocating for children and their families.
- Engaging with the interdisciplinary medical team.
- Offer educational opportunities to families and healthcare professionals.
- As their career progresses, a few CCLS holders even proceed to obtain affordable online master’s degrees in communications.
- As per research, kids who receive age-related preparation for surgery indicate much less pain and discomfort, which can accelerate their recovery.
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What are the core skills and characteristics needed to be successful as a child life specialist?
The following core skills and characteristics are required for achievement as a child life specialist:
- Knowledge of Child Development: One should have a good understanding of how children grow at various ages. This allows them to adapt therapies and communication to the specific requirements and abilities of each child.
- Medical Knowledge: In order to adequately assist children under medical treatment, one should have a general knowledge of prevalent pediatric illnesses, treatments, and procedures.
- Communication Skills: It is paramount to possess communication skills. Child life specialists have to form bonds with families, healthcare providers, and children at every age and level of development. Involves speaking clearly and concisely, listening actively, and adapting communication styles to accommodate different audiences. They need to be able to explain complex medical ideas in a manner that children can understand.
- Sensitivity & Empathy: It’s essential to possess the ability to understand and feel the other person’s emotions. Child life specialists work with children in difficult situations, especially children with serious illnesses. To create rapport and confidence, they should demonstrate genuine sensitivity and empathy.
- Patience and Resilience: There is a lot of patience and resilience required in working with children in challenging medical settings. Child life specialists need to be able to adapt to altering situations and stay calm under stress.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: child life specialists can tailor their practice to each individual child and situation by being innovative and flexible. They need to have a more creative approach. Seek new ways to engage and help children.
- Great Interpersonal Skills: It is important to have a good relationship with children, families, and healthcare professionals. To offer thorough and effective treatment, cooperation and collaboration are essential.
- Additional Competencies: Good organizing skills are required by child life specialists to manage their responsibilities. This might involve coordinating with various members of the healthcare staff, maintaining files, and arranging events.
- Problem-solving skills: Child life professionals must have the ability to identify problems, work with them, and develop feasible solutions, often in times of great stress.
- Cultural Competency: It is an excellent benefit to understand and appreciate various backgrounds and cultural perspectives. It enables child life professionals to work with families of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Some child life professionals might consider applying to the most affordable online criminal justice bachelor’s degree programs in an effort to further protect minorities.
Which specializations are available within the field of child life specialists?
Child life specialists may specialize in a variety of areas, although they often deal with a wide range of pediatric patients. Keep in mind that there are numerous other types of employment available, and these are just a few examples of specialized positions:
1) Specializations by Department
- Cardiology: Support children and families coping with heart conditions.
- Emergency Room: Provide children who are acutely ill or injured emotional support and crisis intervention.
- Hematology: Support families and children with blood disorders.
- Work with seriously ill children and their families in the intensive care unit (ICU) environment.
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Working with seriously ill infants and their families is the specialty of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
- Oncology: Pay extra special care to assist children and families getting cancer diagnoses and treatments.
- Orthopedics: Working with children with musculoskeletal disorders is referred to as orthopedics.
- Outpatient Surgery: Help children and their families in understanding and coping with surgery.
- Pediatric endocrinology: Help children with endocrine disorder disorders.
- Gastroenterology: Working with children having disorders of the digestive system is referred to as pediatric gastroenterology.
- Nephrology: Provide care to children with kidney diseases through pediatric nephrology.
- Pediatric Neurology: Care for children with neurological issues and their families.
- Rheumatology: Care for children with rheumatic diseases through pediatric rheumatology.
2) Specializations by Age Group
- Adolescent Child Life Specialist: Provides support and guidance to adolescents with health concerns, addressing body image, privacy, and returning to social activities.
- Infant and Toddler Specialist: Accompanies young patients to the hospital with their separation anxiety and makes them understand medical procedures.
- Neonatal Child Life Specialist: Assists the infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), assisting in developmental interventions and facilitating communication among parents and healthcare providers.
- School-Aged Child Life Specialist: Deals with issues of disease, treatment, and potential impact on education while focusing on school-aged children’s needs.
Studies have shown that Child Life Specialist (CCLS) interventions can lead to significant healthcare cost savings. In the following graph, an MRI program reported annual net savings of more than $117,870 after introducing a mock scanner preparation intervention, and a radiation oncology program realized annual savings of more than $775,000 when children underwent play-based procedural preparation with a CCLS.
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What type of education or qualifications do child life specialists need?
In order to be a child life specialist, you will need to fulfill the following minimum requirements, but some can vary based on who your employer is, what region you are in, and type of institution.
1) Academic requirements
- A bachelor’s degree in any field
- completion of approved education in child life, either independently or through university programs
2) Certification
- Most jobs need the Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) certification.
- Pass the Child Life Professional Certification Test
- Complete a clinical internship.
3) Additional Education
- Speech, Music, Art, and Dance Classes in Expressive Therapies
- Family Relationships
- Recreational Therapy
- Cultural Variability
- Other Specializations by Department Practice
4) Employer’s preferences
- Child life or a related subject master’s degree (may be preferred)
- Certification or eligibility for the CCLS test (some hospitals provide conditional employment offers for certification within a certain date).
- Department-specific experience (e.g., ICU, NICU, Emergency Department)
Which professions can be offered to graduates holding a degree in child life?
Though they might serve in this specific topic directly, child life specialists are not limited to it. Careers working within related professions can be productive as well; below are some of them:
- Apply your child development knowledge to work in childcare centers, early intervention programs, and educational settings. Taking the cheapest online master’s degree in special education could result in more career options.
- Employ your skills in Ronald McDonald Houses, hospices, children’s camps for chronic illnesses, or other non-clinical environments. Earn advanced degrees in clinical and therapeutic counseling to seek a career in counseling, which might require more schooling. Such as a diploma from one of the lowest-cost online counseling schools.
- Develop educational programs or materials for children in hospitals or with health problems.
- Serve as a child activity coordinator or child life assistant to gain experience in childcare. Public health educators are responsible for developing and implementing educational programs to promote children’s health and well-being in communities.
- Use experience in working on studies related to child development, medical interventions, or child-rearing practices.
- To provide children and families with comprehensive assistance, merge a social work degree with a child life specialist degree. Others even take affordable online master’s degrees in forensic psychology so that they know how to approach abuse and trauma situations.
- Foster children’s emotional well-being by utilizing your knowledge of play therapy in diverse settings.
- Help pediatric patients and their families with their emotional distress and anxiety by serving as child life specialists in hospitals.
What are the requirements to receive the title of Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS)?
The most basic requirements to become certified child life specialist (CCLS) are:
- Bachelor’s degree with approved courses in child care.
- ACLP verifies your clinical and academic credentials to take the test.
- Experience gained by working under the supervision of any experienced CCLS.
- To earn your certification, you will need to pass the Child Life Certification Test.
- Annual fees with four years of professional development classes.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working as a child life specialist?
Advantages
- The work promotes innovation in the development of activities and treatments for children’s emotional well-being.
- It could be extremely satisfying to observe the positive influence you have on children with illness and their families.
- Child-life professionals will be in high demand for the next several years, which guarantees good job security.
- The community of child life specialists is best known for its supportive environment.
- Child life professionals could work in multiple settings and address a range of people.
Disadvantages:
- Long hours, high levels of stress, and unpredictable schedules.
- Ongoing education and training with childcare practices can result in burnout.
- Challenges in workload management and maintaining a balance between administrative responsibilities and patients.
- Can be harder to establish boundaries between work and personal life.
What opportunities are there for child life professionals to advance their careers?
Outside of entry-level jobs, child life professionals can further develop their careers by gaining experience, specializing, or even transitioning to leadership or consultative roles within the areas of child development and healthcare. These are just a few possible career advancement tracks:
1) Leadership Roles within Departments
- Directs child life specialists, coordinates events, and oversees resources for child life programs in health care facilities.
- The person in child life services is in charge of all child life departments and has a strong focus on teamwork, budgeting, and strategic planning.
2) Expertise in Therapeutic Techniques
- Should do interventions based on emotional health and resilience for children who have experienced extreme trauma.
3) Research and Academic Opportunities
- A university instructor guides future child life professionals by courses in psychology, child development, or child life at colleges.
- Conducts research on child psychology, therapies of pediatric care, or medical strategies to improve child-rearing practices.
4) More Contribution to the Community and Consulting
- Collaborates with nearby organizations to implement child life programs in schools and nonprofits.
- Provides guidance to hospitals on how to develop or expand child life programs and improve patient and family interactions.
What technological advancements will impact child life specialist jobs?
Below are some notable technical advancements that could affect the child life specialist’s professions:
- While it is not likely to replace child life professionals, artificial intelligence could be used to develop chatbots or virtual assistants to give simple information or emotional support, so that experts are left with more challenging tasks.
- Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can be used to create immersive experiences to educate children about their illnesses, allow them to practice their own skills, or enable them to control their anxiety.
- Child life specialists can provide remote assistance via video conferencing, particularly in rural areas or interaction is not possible or can be very hard to get there.
- Real-time information about a child’s stress or discomfort can be traced through devices and other wearables.
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FAQs
1. What is a child life specialist’s average income?
Child life specialists normally earn $61,179 per year. If you want a basic salary calculator, the average child life specialist salary is $29 an hour, $1,177 a week, and $5,098 a month.
2. Where is the highest salary for a Child Life Specialist?
The earning capacity of a child life specialist can differ significantly depending on several factors, including the industry, location, degree, experience, and specific employer. The highest annual salary for a child life specialist is $76,780 in San Jose, California, based on the latest salary data from income.com.
3. What is the highest salary for a Child Life Specialist?
The highest salary for a child life specialist is $75,370.
4. What is the lowest earning for Specialist?
The lowest earning is $49.975.
5. What are the responsibilities that come under the Child Life Specialist?
The development and implementation of pediatric programs, interventions, and activities for pediatric patients are within the Child Life Specialist’s domain. Works with families to assist in the treatment of hospitalized or impaired children. Monitor a child’s growth to ensure it’s going well. Provides more emergent cases with the in-depth care they need. A bachelor’s degree in the specialty area might be required for Child Life Specialists.