Coastal Coping LLC

Last week Coastal Coping had the privilege to attend the Ocean Township Special Education Resource Fair at the Ocean Township High School! It was a wonderful afternoon of medical play, connection with families and collaboration with other programs. Thank you for creating an exceptional opportunity for families to easily learn about and access support resources for their children!

Come meet us in person tomorrow at the Special Education Resource Fair to learn more about Coastal Coping and community-based child life services, as well as many other awesome resources for kids and families! This free event includes activities for kids, food, and resources for children with special needs and their families! Tomorrow, Wednesday 5/13/26 from 3-7pm at Ocean Township High School! We hope to see you there!! 🫧 💉🩺🧸📚😊🎉

Continuing our Beyond the Bubbles series…this story looks at the celebrations and losses that can occur side by side, one right after the other, in rooms right next door to each other. It highlights the roller coasters child life specialist navigate everyday, modeling emotional safety through the ups and downs and twists and turns, while giving all we have to support kids and families in these meaningful moments.

Continuing our Beyond the Bubbles series…

It’s not just bubbles, not just model magic, not just paint and cardstock. Sometimes it’s the last memories a family will ever have with their child. Sometimes it’s creating space for joyful memories to have a home alongside the pain and profound loss. Sometimes it’s frantic behind the scenes to create peace at the worst moment of someone’s life.

And it’s ALWAYS an honor and privilege.

Let’s take a look at a lesser recognized side of Child Life. The Who, What, When, Where, Why & How of child life specialists supporting children of adult patients.

When I worked in a local hospital, we frequently received calls to provide support to children of adults…whether it was helping a mom explain her new breast cancer diagnosis to her daughter, helping a little boy understand why Dad passed out at home due to an unknown diabetes diagnosis, or supporting grandchildren when they visit grandma at the hospital for the first time after a stroke, child life specialists have an important role in fostering emotional safety for children of adult patients.

We hear it all the time: “What a fun job! You get to play with kids all day!” And yes, sometimes we do. But there is so much more. So much beyond the playroom, the toys, the games…beyond the bubbles. 🫧

As we begin to wrap up Child Life Month, I have invited child life specialists to share their “Beyond the Bubbles” moments to shine a light on the big picture and behind the scenes of the child life profession, through their eyes, as the professionals doing the work.

Let’s pop those bubbles and take a deeper look at the impactful work of certified child life specialists.

Thank you to for sharing your story to kick off this series!

Continuing our 5W&H series…next up: DIAGNOSIS EDUCATION! While I love all aspects of child life, diagnosis education is one of my ultimate favorites! It is so empowering for children to learn about their own bodies and health needs in a safe, supportive and affirming way. I particularly love to advocate for diagnosis education for “invisible” illnesses and neurodivergent diagnoses. Diagnosis awareness is so important, as the analogy goes, “because there is comfort in knowing you are a normal zebra, not a strange horse. Because you can’t find a community of other zebras, can’t learn what makes a zebra thrive, if you don’t know you are a zebra and you are learning solely from horses”.

Continuing our Who, What, When, Where, Why & How series…this week let’s talk about Medical Play!!

This Child Life Month, check out our Who, What, When, Where, Why and How series! We will take a dive into different aspects of the services child life specialists provide for children, families and medical teams. There are many misconceptions about preparation, “won’t it scare my child?”, “aren’t they too young to understand?”, “I don’t know how to tell them.” These are things we all hear as child life specialists! So let’s take a deeper look at Procedure Preparation! 💉🩺🩻