CHILD LIFE CERTIFICATION EXAM SCRIPT 2025/2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS TAGGED A+
✔✔Preoperational Stage - ✔✔2-7 years
Children at this age are highly egocentric, incapable of viewing the world from any
perspective other than their own
✔✔Concrete operational stage - ✔✔7-12 years
This child has developed a concept of conservation, noting certain properties of liquids
and solids remain constant despite transformation in length, shape or grouping
✔✔Formal Operational Stage - ✔✔12 years and older
Now capable of abstract thought
✔✔Parten (1932) - ✔✔first suggested a categorization of social participation, based on
the play behavior of children
✔✔unoccupied behavior - ✔✔children demonstrating this behavior seem not to be
playing-watching, instead, whatever strikes them as interesting
✔✔Onlooker Play - ✔✔although not actively involved in play themselves, these children
focus their attention on the play activities of others, remaining close to the participating
group
✔✔solitary independent play - ✔✔children engaging in this play do so alone, using
materials different from other children in the vicinity
✔✔parallel activity - ✔✔this play is characterized by children playing in the same area
with like materials, but with each using the materials in an independent manner
✔✔associative play - ✔✔children interact with each other while engaged in a common
activities
✔✔cooperative or organized supplementary play - ✔✔play where a group goal has
been developed
✔✔Erikson (1963) - ✔✔To grow means to be divided into different parts which move at
different rates
✔✔physical development - ✔✔1) the child life worker should provide play activities
commensurate with the child's level of development and medical condition
2) Activities should be adapted to the physical abilities of the child
3) the play setting and materials should be adapted to allow for participation by those
with physical limitations
,✔✔social development - ✔✔1) adequate, accessible space should be provided to allow
patients to gather for play and interaction
2) the child life staff and other personnel should encourage contact among patients
3)group activities should be structured by the child life department to facilitate group
interaction
✔✔Intellectual development - ✔✔1) stimulating activities should be provided for all age
groups
2) direct exploration of the unique aspects of the hospital environment should be
encouraged
3) the child life department should coordinate efforts with the school program and insure
that every child's schooling continues appropriately
✔✔Emotional development - ✔✔1) provide materials conductive to self-expression and
allowing the child to achieve mastery
2) be open and non-judgmental of the child's play
3) reflect the child's feelings through summarization of thoughts expressed of by
labeling feelings expressed nonverbally
4) ask questions which probe the feelings of the children
✔✔Trust vs mistrust - ✔✔Birth-1 year
Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection.
A lack of this will lead to mistrust.
✔✔Autonomy vs shame and doubt - ✔✔1-3 years
Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of
independence.
✔✔Initiative vs guilt - ✔✔3-6 years
Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in
this stage leads to a sense of purpose.
✔✔Industry vs inferiority - ✔✔7-11 years
Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a
sense of competence
✔✔Identity vs role confusion - ✔✔Adolescence
Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability
to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.
✔✔Intimacy vs isolation - ✔✔young adult
seek companionship and love with another person or become isolated from others
✔✔generativity vs stagnation - ✔✔adulthood
, productive, performing meaningful work and raising a family: or becoming stagnant and
inactive
✔✔integrity vs despair - ✔✔maturity
try to make sense out of their lives, either seeing life as meaningful, whole or despairing
at goals never reached, and questions never answered
✔✔Frued - ✔✔a Viennese doctor who came to believe that the way parents dealt with
children's basic sexual and agressive desires would determine how their personalities
developed and whether of not they would end up well-adjusted as adults
✔✔oral phase - ✔✔children are focused on the pleasures that they receive from
sucking and biting with their mouths
✔✔anal phase - ✔✔the focus shifts to the anus as they begin toilet training and attempt
to control their bowels
✔✔phallic stage - ✔✔the focus moves to genital stimulation and the sexual identification
that comes with having or not having a penis
✔✔genital stage - ✔✔adult sexual interests and activities come to dominate
✔✔ego - ✔✔values and rules
✔✔Kohlberg - ✔✔described three stages of moral development which described the
process through which people learn to discriminate right from wrong to develop
increasingly sophisticated appreciations or morality
✔✔pre-conventional - ✔✔describes children whose understanding of morality is
essentially only driven by consequences
✔✔conventional - ✔✔describes people who act in moral ways because they believe
that following the rules is the best way to promote good personal relationships and a
healthy community
✔✔post-conventional - ✔✔describes people whose view of morality transcend what the
rules or laws say
✔✔Bronfenbrenner - ✔✔developed the ecological systems theory to explain how
everything in a child and the child's environment affects how a child grows and develops
✔✔microsystem - ✔✔the small immediate environment the child lives in
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS TAGGED A+
✔✔Preoperational Stage - ✔✔2-7 years
Children at this age are highly egocentric, incapable of viewing the world from any
perspective other than their own
✔✔Concrete operational stage - ✔✔7-12 years
This child has developed a concept of conservation, noting certain properties of liquids
and solids remain constant despite transformation in length, shape or grouping
✔✔Formal Operational Stage - ✔✔12 years and older
Now capable of abstract thought
✔✔Parten (1932) - ✔✔first suggested a categorization of social participation, based on
the play behavior of children
✔✔unoccupied behavior - ✔✔children demonstrating this behavior seem not to be
playing-watching, instead, whatever strikes them as interesting
✔✔Onlooker Play - ✔✔although not actively involved in play themselves, these children
focus their attention on the play activities of others, remaining close to the participating
group
✔✔solitary independent play - ✔✔children engaging in this play do so alone, using
materials different from other children in the vicinity
✔✔parallel activity - ✔✔this play is characterized by children playing in the same area
with like materials, but with each using the materials in an independent manner
✔✔associative play - ✔✔children interact with each other while engaged in a common
activities
✔✔cooperative or organized supplementary play - ✔✔play where a group goal has
been developed
✔✔Erikson (1963) - ✔✔To grow means to be divided into different parts which move at
different rates
✔✔physical development - ✔✔1) the child life worker should provide play activities
commensurate with the child's level of development and medical condition
2) Activities should be adapted to the physical abilities of the child
3) the play setting and materials should be adapted to allow for participation by those
with physical limitations
,✔✔social development - ✔✔1) adequate, accessible space should be provided to allow
patients to gather for play and interaction
2) the child life staff and other personnel should encourage contact among patients
3)group activities should be structured by the child life department to facilitate group
interaction
✔✔Intellectual development - ✔✔1) stimulating activities should be provided for all age
groups
2) direct exploration of the unique aspects of the hospital environment should be
encouraged
3) the child life department should coordinate efforts with the school program and insure
that every child's schooling continues appropriately
✔✔Emotional development - ✔✔1) provide materials conductive to self-expression and
allowing the child to achieve mastery
2) be open and non-judgmental of the child's play
3) reflect the child's feelings through summarization of thoughts expressed of by
labeling feelings expressed nonverbally
4) ask questions which probe the feelings of the children
✔✔Trust vs mistrust - ✔✔Birth-1 year
Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection.
A lack of this will lead to mistrust.
✔✔Autonomy vs shame and doubt - ✔✔1-3 years
Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of
independence.
✔✔Initiative vs guilt - ✔✔3-6 years
Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in
this stage leads to a sense of purpose.
✔✔Industry vs inferiority - ✔✔7-11 years
Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a
sense of competence
✔✔Identity vs role confusion - ✔✔Adolescence
Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability
to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.
✔✔Intimacy vs isolation - ✔✔young adult
seek companionship and love with another person or become isolated from others
✔✔generativity vs stagnation - ✔✔adulthood
, productive, performing meaningful work and raising a family: or becoming stagnant and
inactive
✔✔integrity vs despair - ✔✔maturity
try to make sense out of their lives, either seeing life as meaningful, whole or despairing
at goals never reached, and questions never answered
✔✔Frued - ✔✔a Viennese doctor who came to believe that the way parents dealt with
children's basic sexual and agressive desires would determine how their personalities
developed and whether of not they would end up well-adjusted as adults
✔✔oral phase - ✔✔children are focused on the pleasures that they receive from
sucking and biting with their mouths
✔✔anal phase - ✔✔the focus shifts to the anus as they begin toilet training and attempt
to control their bowels
✔✔phallic stage - ✔✔the focus moves to genital stimulation and the sexual identification
that comes with having or not having a penis
✔✔genital stage - ✔✔adult sexual interests and activities come to dominate
✔✔ego - ✔✔values and rules
✔✔Kohlberg - ✔✔described three stages of moral development which described the
process through which people learn to discriminate right from wrong to develop
increasingly sophisticated appreciations or morality
✔✔pre-conventional - ✔✔describes children whose understanding of morality is
essentially only driven by consequences
✔✔conventional - ✔✔describes people who act in moral ways because they believe
that following the rules is the best way to promote good personal relationships and a
healthy community
✔✔post-conventional - ✔✔describes people whose view of morality transcend what the
rules or laws say
✔✔Bronfenbrenner - ✔✔developed the ecological systems theory to explain how
everything in a child and the child's environment affects how a child grows and develops
✔✔microsystem - ✔✔the small immediate environment the child lives in
