Hospitals can be a scary place for children, especially if they have to stay there for an extended period. At St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, a program called Child Life is offering the youngest patients some comfort and fun. The program focuses on emotional care, often using a practice called “medical play” to help kids understand what they will experience.

“The typical reaction is, they’re going to come into the hospital, they’re going to be anxious, they’re going to be scared — because nobody wants to be here; it’s a scary place,” said Stephanie Spero, a certified child life specialist at St. Joseph’s. “So our job is to try to make it not so scary, and to validate those feelings, that it’s OK to be anxious. That’s totally normal.”

Child life specialists are trained to care for the emotional needs of the child in a health care setting.

Isabella Calonico, a certified child life specialist, explains how she would work with a child who’s just learned they have cancer. She said, “From the minute they are diagnosed, I am there with the family to help them understand what cancer is. We have books, videos and dolls that mimic exactly what they’re going to go through.”

“Doctors and nurses take care of a child from a nursing point of view. But really to heal, the child needs to be healed in various aspects. So not just the body, but the mind and the spirit. And that’s what Child Life does,” said Dr. Michael Lamacchia, chair of pediatrics at St. Joseph’s.