Family Resources

Hands-On Learning, KiwiCo: "We make hands-on science, art & engineering seriously fun. Designed by experts, tested by kids." Instagram page includes videos for DIY science experiments and learning.

Pill Swallowing: Riley Takes Medicine, A Health Education Coloring Book by St. Jude Together: PDF available at bottom of this link

Pill Swallowing: strategies and approach that child life specialists use in interventions. By Nemours (English, Spanish) , by Johns Hopkins Medicine child life specialist, by Children's Health

Sesame Street: a wonderful, all-encompassing resource hub that you can explore according to your needs. Several favorites linked in categories below as well

Zero to Three: general parenting and child development resources

Cero a Tres

Child Mind Institute: centro de recursos para las familias

Sesame Street para familias

My Book Recommendations: My Recommendations for Children Bookshop Wishlist and for Adults Bookshop Wishlist. More information and referral link for purchases at bottom of this post

My Book Reviews: for children and for adults, both lists regularly updated as I read and review on topics of diversity and grief

Books about Body Safety, Tech, and other tough conversations: Defend Young Minds article

Child Life to Go with Allie Jones, MA, CCLS: "Child Life To Go provides grab-and-go children's teaching books + activity guides and child life private sessions to navigate illness, medical events, or loss with hope-filled purpose. Resources and support for medical professionals and the whole family. Take Child Life to go!"... "Delivering the words to cope with illness & medical experiences." Blank Page Children's Books also available in Spanish.

Children's Hospital of Orange County Book Resource List: categories include siblings of children who are chronically ill or hospitalized, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) books for siblings, grief books for siblings, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome specific books on grief for siblings, books on autism for siblings, cancer, diabetes, hospitalization, dentist, general grief, feelings, and for caregivers

Dartmouth Health Children's Child Life Program: extensive catalog according to categories Chronic illness, Death and dying, Medical visit, Relaxation and coping, Special needs, When a parent is ill

Eyeseeme - African American Children's Bookstore: "Dive into the world of African American children's books with our vast inventory, catering to all ages and interests"

Grief and Bereavement: options for children

Grief and Bereavement: Companioning the grieving child: A soulful guide for caregivers by Alan Wolfelt

The Conscious Kid: Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) Storytime and Book Donations to Schools ("Out of all racial groups, API’s receive the least attention in school curriculum and textbooks") and Read-Alouds (contains video links)

The Special Kids in School series by Elaine Ernst Schneider: I am only familiar with the "asthma" version but it provides a very friendly way to broach the topic of an illness and what can be a difficult transition of living with it at school.

Child Life on Call: Instagram // Podcast // Resources // Extensive resources and stories for caregivers and professionals

Cynthia Lee Rosignolo: Instagram // Parent of non-speaking autistic toddler with insightful and educated view of interventions and approaches

I Am Courageous: "Creating & sharing uplifting entertainment to enCOURAGE children in the hospital."

Mai Story Book Library: Instagram

Kristine Xiong: Instagram // Young family coping with toddler's leukemia diagnosis

ACLP Bulletin Article: It's Okay Not to Be Okay by Kristin Brown, CCLS

Child Mind Institute: Family Resource Center (available in Spanish)

Children's Hospital of Orange County Book Resource List: see category "Books to Encourage Children to Talk About their Feelings"

Hand2mind: Exploring sites like this or searching "feelings activity," "socioemotional learning activities," etc. on Pinterest can give you creative ideas of what your child would most enjoy or benefit from.

Health Care Toolbox

List of Feelings Words for Kids by Michele Meleen, M.S.Ed.

Sesame Street: a wonderful, all-encompassing resource hub that you can explore according to your needs such as emotional well-being

Teaching Your Child About Feelings – from Birth to Age 2: Really great tip sheet that introduces topics of social-emotional skills and literacy for you as a caregiver. It has educational and practical pieces that make the information easy to digest. translate to Spanish

TED Radio Hour, Press Play: to highlight part 3, "How Does Play Shape Our Development? [with] Dr. Stuart Brown [who] is the founder of the National Institute for Play in California"

Therapeutic Activities: ideas of ways to explore feelings

Zero to Three

Book Catalog by Dartmouth Health Children's Child Life Program: Relaxation and Coping

Little Otter Health. Mental health service. "Little Otter is here to give you and your family a comprehensive, personalized approach to mental health care regardless of where you are in your journey."

Child Mind Institute: parenting guides (available in Spanish)

Children's Hospital of Orange County Book Resource List: categories include books on autism for siblings

Fidgets: In case you are not familiar, fidgets can be extremely beneficial to children for distraction needs and stimulating behaviors. For pain management, it can help your child have a neurological outlet. Options are endless nowadays but some examples are pop-its, fidget spinners, stress balls, sensory noodles, thinking putty, slinkies, kinetic sand, pop tubes (explore options at your favorite retailers for ones your child may most enjoy)

Asthma: Sesame Street (coloring pages are an easy way to increase exposure to the topic for your child), I Have Asthma, What Does That Mean? by Wendy Chen (see Books menu above for more information)

Book Catalog by Dartmouth Health Children's Child Life Program: according to categories Chronic illness, Medical visit, Special needs, When a parent is ill

Child Life to Go with Allie Jones, MA, CCLS: "Child Life To Go provides grab-and-go children's teaching books + activity guides and child life private sessions to navigate illness, medical events, or loss with hope-filled purpose. Resources and support for medical professionals and the whole family. Take Child Life to go!"... "Delivering the words to cope with illness & medical experiences." Resources. Podcast. Instagram. Blank Page Children's Books also available in Spanish.

Diabetes: Children's Minnesota resources, the "diabetes care manual" especially

General Tips for Supporting Your Child: from Texas Children's Hospital, this resource page includes guides for Medical Play and age-specific tips

Prep Guides from Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital: Using Beary to illustrate the steps in child-friendly ways to prepare your child for upcoming procedures from CT scans to surgeries, these prep guides have options for your child whether pre-school age, school age, or teenage

Medical Play: resource from St. Jude here, from the Sydney Children's Hospital Network here ("this information sheet describes how medical play helps children become familiar with the hospital environment to help them stay relaxed during tests and treatment")

Nemours Health: KidsHealth for Kids, KidsHealth for Teens, KidsHealth for Parents, KidsHealth in the classroom. Also available in Spanish: KidsHealth for Kids (Spanish), KidsHealth for Teens (Spanish), KidsHealth for Parents (Spanish). Such a great hub of videos that are tailored to different age groups as well as caregivers. Provides developmentally appropriate explanations and anticipates questions that children typically have regarding their upcoming procedures, disease processes, and more.

Osmosis Videos: if you are an information-seeking adult and want some more in depth understanding to some of the physiology or disease processes, I found this resource to be one of my absolute favorites during my medical studies. Great illustrations, easy to follow explanations, and accurate content.

Spanish language oncology resources on other page: Linktree made in association with my internship project. Categories of links include: "Family Resources and Education", "Healthcare Experience", "Imaging, Procedures, and Terms", "Your Healthcare Team", and "Disease/Treatment Resources"

St. Jude Children's Hospital: Child-Friendly Definitions, emotional support and daily life

Alex's Lemonade Stand: lots of resources from childhood cancer guides to a resource directory for families, including for siblings

American Cancer Society: Resources for caregivers and family members, including "Helping Children When a Family Member or Someone They Know Has Cancer" with many pages available for download as a PDF. Includes many languages by changing the language in the top left corner of the page or by visiting here

American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO): Catered to children with cancer and their parents, here is a digital library with books, guides, and resources ready for download

Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON): handbooks for patients and families

Books: recommended list with associated discussion guides by Bright Reads (there is a PDF link to a "comprehensive list of suggested books" at the top)

CancerCare: Talking to Children When a Loved One Has Cancer booklet and extensive submenu here for how to navigate these discussions. Find more general topics here under "children and teens"

Children's Oncology Group: link to COG Family Handbook and New Diagnosis Guide (available in English, Spanish, and French)

Hair loss: CancerCare

Nemours Health Videos: Doctors and hospitals for parents, age-appropriate explanations of cancer for children and teens, and support for parents can be found in the section titled “Cancer Center Content List”

Nemours Health Videos: KidsHealth for Kids, KidsHealth for Teens, KidsHealth for Parents. Also available in Spanish: KidsHealth for Kids (Spanish), KidsHealth for Teens (Spanish), KidsHealth for Parents (Spanish). Such a great hub of videos that are tailored to different age groups as well as caregivers. Provides developmentally appropriate explanations and anticipates questions that children typically have regarding their upcoming procedures, disease processes, and more.

Siblings: National Cancer Institute "When Your Brother or Sister Has Cancer: A Guide for Teens"

DisabilityAdvice.org: Offers a complimentary resource designed for parents of children with learning disabilities, providing guidance on managing conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, and auditory processing disorder. Their guide includes actionable advice on accessing educational resources, securing financial support like SSI, and empowering families to support their children’s unique educational and developmental needs. Check the complete guide here: disabilityadvice.org/child-disability/

Race: books for all ages by Ibram X. Kendi (available at this link)

Race: "The Conscious Kid is an education, research and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity and bias." Instagram, Resources

Anti-Trafficking: "practical parenting tips from anti-trafficking experts" that includes resources, webinars, tips, and videos

Child Life Disaster Relief: Instagram

Child Mind Institute: Instagram

Darkness to Light: "Preventing child sexual abuse through education and action", here is a resource page for adults and families with tip sheets for navigating conversations with children and guides for other relevant topics (also in Spanish)

Defend Young Minds: "Encourages and equips parents and professionals with tools to raise empowered, resilient and screen-smart kids who know how to reject pornography." These digital safety tools include articles and free and $5-7 guides. This article suggests books about body safety, tech, and other tough conversations.

Monique Burr Foundation for Children: their programs "educate and protect children and teens from all types of bullying, abuse, and other types of child victimization with our evidence-based and evidence-informed prevention education programs." This page has a thorough list of topics with their own resources, blog posts, and webinars as well as links to external resources

National Center on Sexual Exploitation: "Many people have been affected by pornography, sexual abuse, sex trafficking and more either directly or through those they love and care about. Here are resources to help understand the issues and with both prevention and recovery efforts." By clicking "explore these resources" for the Prevention and Recovery Resources section, you will find tools for parents and an extensive menu of tech solutions for managing online safety

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): the United States' largest anti-sexual violence organization. "RAINN is committed to supporting survivors of sexual violence, cultivating communities of anti-sexual violence activism, and promoting policies that deliver justice and hold perpetrators accountable." Here you can find important resources like "Warning Signs for Young Children" and "Warning Signs for Teens" (click here for their Spanish page).

Stop It Now!: "Eqipp[ing] adults to prevent child sexual abuse," Stop It Now! "provide[s] support, information and resources to keep children safe and create healthier communities." Some highlights that you can find on their website is a Library of Resources, resource guides, and articles in their help center. Such articles include "What Should I Do After a Child Tells?", Tip Sheet: Warning Signs of Possible Sexual Abuse In A Child's Behaviors, and Healing and Support for Children and Parents

Traumatic Experiences: Sesame Workshop, (y en español)

Race: books for all ages by Ibram X. Kendi (available at this link)

Race: "The Conscious Kid is an education, research and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity and bias." Instagram, Resources

Together by St. Jude: emotional support and daily life (tailored to cancer patients but I think some of the themes are applicable to any trauma)

Books: click here for options for children, my book reviews here (search for grief topics), and My Recommendations for Children Bookshop Wishlist (more information and referral link for purchases at bottom of this post)

Children's Bereavement Center: resources, free support groups for all ages

Dougy Center: Grief Out Loud Podcast

Healgrief.org: for young adults

National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG): find support near you

New Hope Grief

Sesame Street

The Dinner Party: for young adults

What's your grief?: resources, kids/teens,

Wonders and Worries: Instagram, WonderCast (podcast), WonderCast Instagram