Specialist Qualifications

Child Life Specialists are professionally trained and hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree in child life or child development. They also are required to do a 480-hour internship. Child Life Specialists must have knowledge of child development, family dynamics, therapeutic play activities, developmental observations and assessments.

Child Life Specialists are certified through the Child Life Certifying Committee of the Child Life Council. Specialists are encouraged to acquire and maintain competency skills to increase knowledge and professional growth. Fifty professional development hours are required to recertify by professional development, or one may sit for the certification examination again.