Jan 12 2025 10 mins
In this episode of Child Life On Call, host Katie Taylor, a certified child life specialist, shares personal experiences and practical advice on maintaining calm during your child's medical procedures. Katie recounts a traumatic incident with her daughter, emphasizing the natural parental panic response and how to manage it.
She offers three key strategies: getting informed about medical procedures, finding a supportive role during the process, and taking care of your own physical and emotional needs. Katie introduces the Support Spot app as a valuable resource, providing step-by-step guides for over 50 medical procedures.
This episode aims to equip parents with the tools and confidence needed to support their children effectively during medical challenges.
00:00 Introduction and Personal Story
02:30 Understanding Parental Panic
03:11 Managing Emotions During Medical Procedures
03:28 Empowering Yourself with Information
04:24 Finding a Role to Play
05:27 Taking Care of Your Needs
06:05 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
07:53 Support Spot App and Resources
09:24 Closing Remarks
When parents feel empowered, everyone wins – kids thrive and the care team excels!
Learn more here.
Meet the host:
Katie Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, a digital platform designed to provide parents, kids, and the care team with access to child life services tools and resources. She is a certified child life specialist with over 13 years of experience working in various pediatric healthcare settings. Katie is the author of the children's book, and has presented on the topics of child life and entrepreneurship, psychosocial care in the hospital, and supporting caregivers in the NICU setting both nationally and internationally. She is also the host of the Child Life On Call Podcast which features interviews with parents discussing their experiences throughout their child's medical journey. The podcast emphasizes the crucial role of child life services in enabling caregivers both at and beyond the bedside.