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Child Life Mommy Shani Thornton is a Certified Child Life Specialist supporting families coping with life's challenge

Senior Night 🖤💛🤽‍♂️What a special night celebrating 20 seniors as they wrap up their water polo journey at Del Oro High ...
10/14/2026

Senior Night 🖤💛🤽‍♂️

What a special night celebrating 20 seniors as they wrap up their water polo journey at Del Oro High School. Hearing the speeches, seeing all the families, friends, and community who have shown up to support and love these kids was so special.

What an incredible adventure we’ve been lucky enough to be part of. I’m so proud of G and the friendships he’s made along the way.

I’m going to miss these boys, their smiling faces, the endless cooking in our kitchen, and watching them eat absolutely everything in our house! 🤣❤️

So grateful for the memories, the friendships, and all the people who made this chapter so special. It’s hard to believe we’re already here. 🥹

🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛

A child’s cancer diagnosis impacts the entire family. 💛🎗️During a recent family session, we created space for everyone t...
10/12/2026

A child’s cancer diagnosis impacts the entire family. 💛🎗️

During a recent family session, we created space for everyone to share some of the emotions, fears, and challenges they’ve been carrying throughout this journey.

Sometimes it’s hard to put those feelings into words, especially when you’re trying to protect the people you love.

Through therapeutic activities, play, and open conversations, my role as a child life specialist is to help families feel safe expressing those emotions, listening to one another, and recognizing that they’re not alone in what they’re feeling.

There were tears, vulnerability, meaningful conversations, and some really powerful moments of connection.

I’m so grateful to Keaton's Child Cancer Alliance, Michelle Sarte Clark, &. Anjali Wilkerson for helping make these child life sessions possible for families navigating childhood cancer.

It truly takes a village. 💛

❤️🎗️❤️🎗️❤️🎗️❤️

The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind!I traveled to SLO for Gavin’s last high school water polo tournament, raced home...
10/11/2026

The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind!

I traveled to SLO for Gavin’s last high school water polo tournament, raced home to get the boys ready for their first and last HOCO, and made it to the Michelle Sarte Clark’s Denim & Diamonds Gala, where I was proud to be both a sponsor and attendee. 💛

Somewhere in the middle of it all, I found myself feeling the grief that comes with watching my oldest experience his last big high school moments. These milestones are exciting and joyful, but they also carry the bittersweet realization that this chapter is coming to an end.

One moment, I was listening to families share their powerful journeys through pediatric cancer, with not a dry eye in the room. A few hours later, I was listening to Blake tell me all about the mosh pit and crowd surfing at HOCO. 😂

Talk about putting life into perspective.

These moments remind me just how grateful I am to be a mom, to witness these milestones, to hold space for the hard parts, and to have the privilege of supporting some truly incredible warrior families.

My heart is full. ❤️

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

📣 Calling all California Certified Child Life Specialists, child life students, and supporters!Join the California Child...
10/10/2026

📣 Calling all California Certified Child Life Specialists, child life students, and supporters!

Join the California Child Life Licensing Task Force for a FREE Virtual Town Hall Meeting!

We’ll be sharing updates on our efforts to establish licensure for Certified Child Life Specialists in California, discussing our progress and next steps, and answering your questions.

📅 Friday, October 23, 2026
⏰ 6:30 PM Pacific Time
💻 Virtual via Zoom
🎟️ FREE to attend!

Whether you’ve been following our licensure efforts or are just learning about them, we’d love for you to join the conversation!

This is a great opportunity to learn more, ask questions, and stay informed about the work being done to advance the child life profession in California.

🔗 Sign up using the link below!

https://tinyurl.com/39x38tut

Please help us spread the word by sharing this event with fellow child life specialists, students, colleagues, and anyone who supports our profession!

We hope to see you there! 💙

10/08/2026

This has to be one of the most annoying things about sleeping at the hospital.

Just when you finally get some sleep, it’s time for vitals! 🫠

❤️❤️❤️

A few of my favorite tools to help make sick days a little less stressful for kids. 💛Playhouse MD has created some reall...
10/08/2026

A few of my favorite tools to help make sick days a little less stressful for kids. 💛

Playhouse MD has created some really cute, child-friendly products that help make those not-so-fun sick days a little easier.

A few of these are also on sale right now for Amazon Prime if you’ve been wanting to check them out.

Learn more at Playhouse MD

Thank you Playhouse MD for sending me the Sick Day Superheroes Comfort Care Package. Child life approved 💛

❤️❤️❤️❤️

10/06/2026

So many of you have been here with me since G was just a preschooler… and somehow, he’s already a senior. 🥹

Senior Night is next week, and I’m not quite sure how we got here so fast.

Trying to soak it all in.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

September may be ending, but the fight against childhood cancer continues all year long. 💛🎗️I’ll keep going gold, advoca...
09/30/2026

September may be ending, but the fight against childhood cancer continues all year long. 💛🎗️

I’ll keep going gold, advocating, educating, and supporting children and families every step of the way.

If you know a family impacted by childhood cancer, please visit the Childhood Cancer Resource Guide through the link in my bio. It’s free and filled with organizations offering financial support, comfort items, sibling support, mental health resources, survivorship, bereavement support, and more.

No kid should fight alone.

💛💛💛💛

Just a typical day of child life in the community.Procedural support for labs, an in-home child life session with siblin...
09/29/2026

Just a typical day of child life in the community.

Procedural support for labs, an in-home child life session with siblings, visiting a high school to share about the child life profession with a child development class, and wrapping up with a family session.

Every day looks a little different, and that’s one of the things I love most about community-based child life. 💛

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Sacramento, CA

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+19163033220

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