The Child Life Arts and Enrichment Program helps to create a safe, caring, and healing environment for children and families at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital.

Art creates possibilities and awakens the imagination of children, engaging their creative spirit in self-expression and communication, including opportunities to give voice to the experiences of illness, loss and separation. Art activities contribute to a sense of accomplishment and learning that is part of normal childhood development. These activities also help hospitalized children develop or regain a strong sense of self that can sustain them through the challenges of illness and hospitalization.

Activities in all arts disciplines include opportunities for children to make creative choices that help them feel more control over their lives. The Arts and Enrichment program offers a welcome respite from medical concerns for the patient and the whole family, supporting their relationships with each other and with the hospital community.

The Child Life Arts and Enrichment Program brochure describes the service in greater detail.

The Child Life Arts and Enrichment Program Online Museum shows recent artwork and poetry created by children.