In my future I see many potential ways to interact with kids. I plan to volunteer in the children’s hospital when I turn 21, and will stay there until I have my career in child psychology. I also have hopes of being a parent as well. I have been around kids very often growing up as I am a part of a big family, and I would love to have a future filled with kids as well. I knew that the role of adults in children’s lives was important, but it never occurred to me just how influential these relationships were.
For my future as a volunteer in the children’s hospital, I don’t think the ideas of positive youth development would apply to it very well because I want to volunteer in the prenatal unit. But for the rest of the areas of my life that will involve kids has the potential to help benefit the children I am around. In my future career there are a few elements of Positive Youth Development that I could utilize. I could help foster the ideas of identity and moral perspective through providing the children I work with a form of community (Finley 2020). As a psychologist in a children’s hospital, I feel that it would be important for me to help the kids come in contact with others in the hospital, forming a little community, especially those who are in the hospital for an extended period of time. It is more critical that I provide a sense of community to the children who are there more long term as it would be more difficult than the average child to find a community.
I feel like for my future family I can emphasize community as well but in the form of community service. I’m a fairly religious person so it would be safe for me to believe that my children would also be practicing in organized religion. But to really help foster their identity and moral development I can have my children actively participate in community service (Finley 2020). If I am still working with the hospital I could do something with them there, have them make things for the patience, writing notes or making goodie bags for example.
I already had ideas of incorporating some of these ideas into the lives of the children I will encounter in the future. But now I have more tangible evidence of the effects and importance of the ideas of Positive Youth Development.
Finley, K (2020). Positive youth development applying positive youth development for future flourishing adults [PowePoint presentation]. Retrieved from Moodle.
Three Little Birds 
This is super cool, I like the idea of forming a community with the children in the hospital so that as you help them with psychological practices the other children interacting will also be a benefit. Although you will be a child psychologist, which will obviously have great benefits when raising your own children, do you think it will be hard to differentiate between mom and psychologist when going from the workplace to home or vice versa?
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Great question! I actually think that I would end up molding the two roles together, psychologist and mother. I think they are actually very similar. The role of a psychologist is more of a guide than a fixer. They are there to help individuals come to conclusions, find solutions, and to teach people tools to use to in life. The only substantial difference between the two roles would be the stage as a mother when you do have to be a fixer when the child is unable to fix things themselves. One thing that I see that would be a problem with molding the roles would be viewing my patients as my children. This sounds good at first, but being around death is something that comes hand in hand when working in a hospital. That is something that would be very hard for me, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it I guess.
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That is great that you want to volunteer in the prenatal unit at a hospital. I am sure that they can use a lot of help when working with patients to make sure their babies are healthy. What inspired you to want to volunteer in this area of the hospital?
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Well, my mom works at CHOC and so she when she hears of opportunities she’ll let me know what they are. I particularly like this one because I love babies!
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The children’s hospital is a great way to interact with children in the community, especially because they can use all of the love and support available to them. Working with the children there, no matter what age they are, can make a big difference in their day. What made you decide to work a a children’s hospital, rather than a normal hospital?
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I decided to work in the children’s hospital because I’ve personally had a lot of experiences in the children’s hospital that have made hard times better. I want to be able to help others in the ways that I have once been helped. I also just really love kids!
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My little cousins spends some time in the children’s hospital, so I think the idea you have of creating a community within the hospital is so important. It will relieve some stress the child has because they will have friends there. Do you see your family volunteering all the time? Like every Christmas volunteer at a soup kitchen? -Rebecca
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I do see my future family volunteering regularly. I’m not sure exactly how quite yet, but volunteering at a soup kitchen on Christmas sounds like an excellent way to do that!
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I love your desire to work with kids! I think the volunteer work you plan on doing in the children’s hospital sounds very rewarding and fulfilling. Your future career also sounds like a wonderful way to help out these younger patients. How do you plan on providing that sense of community to the children you work with?
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I would meet with groups of kids with similar ailments. At our meeting it would not only focus on coping with their condition, I would play games, foster ways for them to get to know each other and potentially become friends. I think the skills I learned as an Orientation Advisor would also help in fostering community.
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