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Child Life Month (2)

Celebrating over 6,500 Certified Child Life Specialists

March 1 - March 31, 2023

The impact YOU make on the emotional safety of children and families in healthcare settings is unparalleled. To promote understanding and appreciation of the invaluable contributions of child life specialists, the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) has championed a month-long celebration, Child Life Month. 
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2023 Child Life Month weekly themes

Use these resources for ideas on how to celebrate Child Life Month, rally your professional networks, and inspire others. The Child Life Month Toolkit is full of resources such as social media graphics, sample press release, Canva files and more.

You can also request a letter to your administrator here.

DOWNLOAD THE CHILD LIFE MONTH TOOLKIT

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Weekly Focus Areas

Child Life Month is divided into four weekly focus areas — Professional Development, Member Appreciation Week, Self-Care, and Recognition. Take a minute to review each focus area taking place through the month of March.  

2023 Child Life Month
MARCH 6-12
Professional Development

Access educational resources to help you excel and lead in your career.
MARCH 13 - 19
Member Appreciation Week

ACLP efforts depend on support from members like you! We are grateful for your dedication and are excited to celebrate you this week!
MARCH 20-26
Self-Care

This week is dedicated to cultivating optimal mental health and physical health of all those in the child life community.
MARCH 27 - 31
Recognition

Celebrate your colleagues who are making an impact!
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FREE Education Offerings for Child Life Month:

 Storytelling is a powerful tool to advance and elevate the work of child life. For thousands of years, people have used stories to communicate critical information. This training will explore the importance of storytelling as a tool to frame the narrative of our profession, and help you to use storytelling to amplify and elevate your professional practice. 

Independent Learning
1.0 PDU, Domain: Professional Responsibility
ACLP Members: FREE
 
Presented by the ACLP Benchmarking Committee, learn about the importance of data within child life and how it can support your work. The basics of the Child Life Professional Data Center (CLPDC) will also be discussed. 

March 27, 1 PM EST
1.5 PDUs, Domain: Professional Responsibility
ACLP Members: FREE, Non-Members: $35
 
Practice using the RCC tool through Q and A activities and practice healthy cross-racial dialogue with the tool. Please plan to join this event from your own device - no device sharing for this event. This session will NOT be recorded. Participants must attend live in order to participate and earn PDUs.

March 8 & 14, 11 AM - 2 PM EST
Domain:  DEI, 3.0 PDUs
FREE, only available to those who have completed RCC Foundations

Practice using the RCC tool around critical incidents at work. Attendees should come in with problems for practice. Come to share and practice in a work context.

March 23 & 28, 11 AM - 2 PM EST
Domain: DEI, 3.0 PDUs
FREE, only available to those who have completed RCC Foundations
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ACLP's efforts depend on support from members like YOU! We are grateful for your dedication and support. This week we will be celebrating you by...


ACLP Membership Giveaway
  • This week, we will be giving away 2 memberships to current ACLP Members! If selected, your membership will be automatically renewed and paid for a full year from the time your current membership expires.
  • To enter the giveaway, simply follow ACLP on Social Media and participate in the contest giveaway or fill out the submission form found here. You must be a current ACLP Member to win. 

ACLP Members Hotel & Rental Car Discounts
  • Did you know ACLP Members receive discounts on travel? Members can save on over 60,000 hotels worldwide and up to 35% on rental cars. To learn more about these discounts, log into your ACLP profile at childlife.org and click on the ACLP Member Travel Discounts block.

Join ACLP
  • For this week only, join ACLP as a NEW member and save 25% on the cost of membership as well as have the $25 joining fee waived. Use code CLMONTH at checkout to save.
  • ACLP Members recieve free access to at least 3 pop-up webinars each year (minimum of 3 PDUs), over 10 free webinars (minimum of 10 PDUs), over 20 free publication PDUs as well as discounts on certification fees, webinars, annual conference registration, and more.
  • 25% off new ACLP Memberships is valid 3/13-3/19.
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This week is dedicated to cultivating optimal mental health and physical health of all those in the child life community.

ACLP Course: Dealing with Stress, Pressure, and Burnout

  • This course will help you define stress, pressure, and burnout, recognizing the unique ways they show up for you. You’ll be able to evaluate your work and lifestyle to identify opportunities for healing. You’ll also get valuable strategies to manage the effects of stress, pressure, and burnout. By the end of the course, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how these forces affect you—and what you can do about it. 
  • FREE for all in the child life community. 1.0 PDU

Self-Care Package Giveaway

  • This week, ACLP will be giving away 2 Self-Care packages from Nurture by Nature.To enter the giveaway, simply follow ACLP on Social Media and participate inthe contest giveaway.

Upcoming ACLP Webinar: More than just a bad day: How CCLSs can maintain professional well-being and create a coping plan for burnout

  • March 24, 1 pm EST
  • Child life specialists are exposed daily to high stress and emotional encounters. It’s no surprise that compassion fatigue, a symptom of burnout, is common in a career centered around having compassion. As experts in coping and emotional safety, how can we learn to utilize the skills we teach? This webinar discusses strategies for building resiliency in an emotionally demanding field.
  • 1.0 PDU, Professional Responsibility

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Celebrate your colleagues who are making an impact in the field of child life!


  • Give a WOW! We invite all individuals in the child life community to Give a WOW! Submissions may include celebration of career milestones, recognize those providing exemplary emotionally safe care, share the successes of programs prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, show your appreciation towards colleagues and peers who go above and beyond each day in support of each other and children, and more.
  • Celebrate the 2023 DSA Winner
  • Celebrate the 2023 MBA Winner
  • Celebrate the 2023 Professional Research Award Winner
  • Celebrate the 2023 Student Research Award Winner
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2023 Distinguished Service Award Winner

Jill Koss, MS, CCLS

"How does one exactly capture the essence, impact, and legacy of Jill Koss? Jill has provided many years of remarkable service to the field of child life, not only as a child life specialist, but as a leader, an encourager, and a dreamer..."

Read more about Jill here.

Congratulate Jill by signing her card here.

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2023 Mary Barkey Clinical Excellence Award Winner

Shaindy Alexander, MS, CCLS

"Ten years ago, I walked into my first professional child life role and was lucky enough to find myself sharing an office space with Shaindy, who unofficially became my child life mentor. Her supportive and approachable nature is why many other child life specialists would also use the word “mentor” when talking about Shaindy..."

Read more about Shaindy here.

Congratulate Shaindy by signing her card here.

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2023 Professional Research Award Winners

 

Hospitalized children's perceptions of legacy: 'A symbol of yourself that you leave behind'

Child Care Health Dev. 2022; https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.13068

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Jenna Dunbar, MEd, CCLS, CIMI

Maile Jones, MEd, CCLS

Jessika Boles, PhD, CCLS

Congratulate the research winners by signing their card here.

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2023 Student Research Award Winners

Stress, Success, and Burnout: The Relationship Between Imposter Phenomenon and Burnout in Certified Child Life Specialists

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Diane W. Bales, PhD, CCLS

Sydney Ehinger, MS, CCLS

Congratulate the research winners by signing their card here.

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