Top 12 Child Life Specialist Skills to Put on Your Resume

A strong, story-rich resume can lift your candidacy as a child life specialist. Show what you can do, plainly and powerfully. Put your top skills on the page—comforting kids and families, guiding them through prickly medical moments, easing fear, building coping muscle.

Child Life Specialist Skills

1. Empathy
2. Communication
3. Child Development
4. Stress Management
5. Play Therapy
6. Medical Terminology
7. Crisis Intervention
8. Family Support
9. Program Development
10. Child Psychology
11. Documentation
12. Therapeutic Intervention

1. Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to understand and share feelings. For a Child Life Specialist, it’s the bridge—trust grows there, worries soften there, and care feels human again.

Why It's Important

Empathy lets you meet children and families where they are. It deepens trust, calms storms, and fuels support that actually lands during tough medical experiences.

How to Improve Empathy Skills

Strengthen empathy by sharpening presence and perspective-taking.

1. Active listening: Tune in fully. Reflect feelings and meanings. Hold judgment.

2. Emotional intelligence: Notice your own emotions. Name others’ emotions accurately. Regulate with intention.

3. Cultural competence: Seek, respect, and adapt to cultural perspectives that shape beliefs, communication, and coping.

4. Practice compassion: Pair understanding with helpful action. Small, steady gestures matter.

5. Seek feedback: Ask colleagues and families what helped and what missed. Adjust quickly.

6. Continuous learning: Engage in ongoing training through the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) and related workshops.

Empathy grows with reflection, practice, and humility. Keep at it.

How to Display Empathy Skills on Your Resume

2. Communication

Communication is how you translate fear into understanding. It’s the gentle, clear flow of information and feelings that helps kids and families cope and take the next step.

Why It's Important

It builds trust, clarifies needs, teaches coping, and keeps everyone informed—without confusion or jargon getting in the way.

How to Improve Communication Skills

Make it clear. Make it kind. Make it age-appropriate.

1. Active listening: Reflect, validate, and check understanding.

2. Simplify language: Use kid-friendly words. Drop the jargon. Resources like KidsHealth can guide tone and clarity.

3. Visual aids: Books, models, drawings, or apps transform abstract into concrete. Child life technology tools can help.

4. Empathy and reassurance: Name feelings. Normalize reactions. Share what’s next to lower uncertainty.

5. Feedback loops: Invite questions. Pause. Re-explain in new ways if needed.

6. Cultural sensitivity: Adapt to communication norms and family roles common in their culture.

7. Consistency: Coordinate with the care team so messages align.

Do these well and hard moments become clearer, lighter, more manageable.

How to Display Communication Skills on Your Resume

3. Child Development

Child development tracks physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth. For child life practice, it’s your compass—pointing to what a child can understand, feel, and do at each stage.

Why It's Important

With sound developmental insight, interventions match a child’s needs, strengths, and timing. Coping rises. Distress falls. Progress sticks.

How to Improve Child Development Skills

Blend play, education, and support into everyday care.

1. Encourage play: Offer varied, open-ended play to spark learning and mastery. The Genius of Play shares useful ideas.

2. Promote emotional intelligence: Teach feelings, words, and regulation tools. Programs like RULER can inform practice.

3. Support social interaction: Create peer connections. Organizations like Zero to Three offer strategies.

4. Build physical skills: Use activities that strengthen fine and gross motor skills, aligned with CDC physical activity guidance.

5. Stimulate cognition: Problem-solving games, make-believe, and hands-on tasks. Resources such as PBS for Parents help.

6. Provide emotional support: Safety first—predictable routines, choice, and validation. The ACLP supplies practice guidance.

7. Educate caregivers: Share home strategies and milestones. HealthyChildren.org has accessible materials.

Small, developmentally tuned steps stack into big outcomes.

How to Display Child Development Skills on Your Resume

4. Stress Management

Stress management means helping children and families steady themselves in medical spaces—before, during, and after tough procedures—so anxiety doesn’t take the wheel.

Why It's Important

When stress is managed, coping strengthens. Resilience grows. Care goes smoother, safer, kinder.

How to Improve Stress Management Skills

Calm is a skill set. Build it deliberately.

1. Mindfulness and relaxation: Breathing, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga. Evidence shows gains in calm and focus.

2. Time management: Prioritize, batch tasks, and protect focus. Guidance from the American Psychological Association can inform habits.

3. Professional development: Expand your toolkit through ACLP learning and peer supervision.

4. Self-care: Move, eat well, sleep enough. Maintain boundaries. Resources like HelpGuide outline practical routines.

5. Support systems: Lean on colleagues, mentors, and family. Mental Health America emphasizes healthy routines and connections.

6. Seek professional help when needed: The American Psychological Association provides pathways to licensed support.

Protect your energy and you protect your practice.

How to Display Stress Management Skills on Your Resume

5. Play Therapy

Play therapy gives children a language they already speak. Through play, they process, practice coping, and heal—on their terms.

Why It's Important

Play is a safe container for big feelings and complex experiences. It’s developmentally right and therapeutically potent.

How to Improve Play Therapy Skills

Broaden your methods and deepen your attunement.

1. Continuous learning: Seek workshops and certifications. The Association for Play Therapy offers strong training pathways.

2. Vary play materials: Include art, sensory items, medical play kits, role-play props, and books. The National Institute for Play maps out play types.

3. Create safety: Physically and emotionally. Predictable structure, clear choices, gentle limits. The ACLP shares environment guidelines.

4. Build rapport: Be consistent, curious, and nonjudgmental. Trust opens the door.

5. Involve caregivers: Coach carryover skills. The ACLP Academic Programs directory highlights family-centered care models.

6. Reflective practice: Debrief sessions, seek supervision, and refine techniques.

7. Adapt in real time: Follow the child’s lead while holding therapeutic goals.

When play feels natural, therapy often moves farther, faster.

How to Display Play Therapy Skills on Your Resume

6. Medical Terminology

Medical terminology is the shared language of healthcare. Understanding it means you can translate clearly for families and collaborate smoothly with the team.

Why It's Important

It prevents confusion, supports advocacy, and keeps communication precise in fast-moving clinical settings.

How to Improve Medical Terminology Skills

Learn it once, then reinforce endlessly.

1. Master word parts: Roots, prefixes, suffixes. The building blocks unlock complex terms.

2. Use flashcards: Spaced repetition tools and sets (e.g., Quizlet) make recall stick.

3. Try learning apps: Interactive quizzes and mini-lessons help on the go.

4. Read widely: Dip into medical literature databases such as PubMed to see terms in context.

5. Take a course: Intro classes from platforms like Coursera or edX can speed learning.

6. Practice in context: Use terms during rounds, debriefs, and care conferences.

7. Join professional groups: ACLP communities and forums reinforce vocabulary in real-world scenarios.

Clarity for you becomes clarity for families.

How to Display Medical Terminology Skills on Your Resume

7. Crisis Intervention

Crisis intervention is rapid, focused support when things turn acute—stabilizing emotions, restoring safety, and guiding next steps.

Why It's Important

Handled well, it reduces harm, protects development, and helps families and children regain control in the middle of chaos.

How to Improve Crisis Intervention Skills

Act fast, but thoughtfully.

1. Elevate communication: Use clear, calm, age-appropriate language. The ACLP shares guidance for high-stress interactions.

2. Build rapport quickly: Short, warm connections—often through play—signal safety. The National Institute for Play offers insights.

3. Study trauma-informed care: Learn how trauma shapes behavior and memory. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network is a key resource.

4. Center families: Integrate values, beliefs, and strengths. Family Voices highlights family-centered approaches.

Preparation plus presence—that’s the formula for steadier outcomes.

How to Display Crisis Intervention Skills on Your Resume

8. Family Support

Family support means wrapping care around the whole unit—emotional, informational, and practical—so they can show up strong for their child.

Why It's Important

Families steady the ship. When they’re supported, children cope better and care feels cohesive.

How to Improve Family Support Skills

Meet needs with empathy and useful tools.

1. Education and resources: Provide plain-language materials, timelines, and coping ideas. The ACLP publishes helpful guides.

2. Emotional support: Offer space to talk, normalize reactions, and connect to counseling when needed. The Dougy Center is a go-to in grief support.

3. Practical assistance: Help families navigate benefits, services, and logistics. Family Voices offers advocacy resources.

4. Community building: Link families with peer groups—online or in person. Parents Together is one example.

5. Recreation and respite: Suggest activities that spark joy and reduce stress. The Starlight Children’s Foundation curates engaging programs.

Support the supporters, and everything else works better.

How to Display Family Support Skills on Your Resume

9. Program Development

Program development is the design, rollout, and evaluation of services that meet children’s and families’ needs across the care continuum.

Why It's Important

Thoughtful programs create consistency and equity, scale what works, and reach more families with the right support at the right time.

How to Improve Program Development Skills

Build what matters, then keep improving it.

1. Continuing education: Use ACLP training and conferences to refine methods.

2. Collaborative planning: Include nursing, medicine, rehab, social work, educators, and families. Interdisciplinary design boosts fit and impact.

3. Evidence-based practice: Anchor programs in research and outcomes. The ACLP offers research resources.

4. Family-centered care: Co-create with families so services reflect real needs and preferences.

5. Cultural competency: Adapt to language, cultural norms, and access barriers. NAEYC shares inclusive guidance.

6. Feedback and evaluation: Measure what changes. Iterate relentlessly.

7. Technology integration: Use digital tools, VR, or apps where they truly add value.

Good programs evolve. Keep listening, keep testing, keep refining.

How to Display Program Development Skills on Your Resume

10. Child Psychology

Child psychology examines how kids think, feel, and behave from infancy through adolescence. It’s the backbone of tailored, humane child life care.

Why It's Important

It helps you match interventions to developmental realities and emotional needs, strengthening coping and protecting mental health.

How to Improve Child Psychology Skills

Stay curious and evidence-driven.

1. Continuous education: Follow journals and updates from organizations like the American Psychological Association.

2. Communication skills: Use active listening and validation. Insights from the Center on the Developing Child can guide practice.

3. Play therapy: Train and practice with supervision. The Association for Play Therapy provides pathways.

4. Family involvement: Coach caregivers and include them in care plans. The ACLP outlines family-centered approaches.

5. Self-care: Prevent burnout with grounding practices. Resources such as Mindful share techniques.

Knowledge plus warmth—children feel both.

How to Display Child Psychology Skills on Your Resume

11. Documentation

Documentation captures assessments, interventions, child responses, and outcomes. It tells the story clearly so care stays consistent and accountable.

Why It's Important

Good notes support team communication, continuity of care, quality improvement, and ethical practice.

How to Improve Documentation Skills

Write for clarity, accuracy, and relevance.

1. Stay current: Review ACLP guidance and institutional policies.

2. Be specific and objective: Record behaviors, quotes, and measurable outcomes. The American Academy of Pediatrics shares pediatric documentation best practices.

3. Use plain language: Make entries understandable across disciplines. PLAIN offers helpful principles.

4. Maintain confidentiality: Follow HIPAA and organizational standards outlined by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

5. Reflect and audit: Periodically review your notes and seek peer feedback to improve.

Clear documentation makes your impact visible and repeatable.

How to Display Documentation Skills on Your Resume

12. Therapeutic Intervention

Therapeutic intervention blends structured activities and strategies to bolster coping, expression, and development during illness, hospitalization, and recovery.

Why It's Important

It reduces distress, strengthens resilience, and supports emotional and developmental health throughout care.

How to Improve Therapeutic Intervention Skills

Expand your toolkit and calibrate it to the child.

1. Continuing education: Advance through ACLP certifications, workshops, and mentoring.

2. Family-centered care: Co-design goals with families, aligned with guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

3. Interdisciplinary collaboration: Partner with medical, mental health, and educational professionals for cohesive plans, a practice endorsed by global health organizations.

4. Evidence-based practice: Pull from the ACLP research library and related literature.

5. Reflective practice: Use models like the Gibbs Reflective Cycle to evaluate and refine sessions.

6. Technology integration: Thoughtful use of tools—virtual reality for procedural support, calming apps for breathwork—can boost engagement.

7. Play therapy: Keep play central as a pathway to expression and mastery. Training via the Association for Play Therapy helps.

Targeted, flexible interventions meet children where they are—and move with them as they grow.

How to Display Therapeutic Intervention Skills on Your Resume