The Importance of Playtime featuring A Kid Again

September 6, 2022


A Kid Again is an awesome organization that sponsors fun and free adventures for kids with life-threatening conditions and their families. In our podcast episode "The Importance of Playtime Featuring A Kid Again" we interviewed Kathy Derr, the Director of Family Engagement at A Kid Again and she shared her inspiring story about how her family was personally impacted by a life-threatening illness and how much it meant to her children to be able to prioritize spending time together and just being a regular family.


The Mission of A Kid Again 


In their words, A Kid Again exists to "foster hope, happiness, and healing for children with life-threatening conditions and their families!" A Kid Again services children (with life-threatening illnesses) and their families by facilitating play opportunities for the family that recapture moments of pure joy, and simply enjoy  "play" the moments of childhood. The opportunities that A Kid Again provide to its members include:


  • In-person adventures
  • Virtual adventures in-a-box
  • Gaming teams in ESports
  • Family meet and greet


A Kid Again serves children through the the age of 20. Once you enroll, A Kid Again provides families with year-round, cost-free adventures!  In their words, "our Adventures will take your family to places like the zoo, sporting events, and amusement parks. During these unprecedented times, we are also providing non-traditional Adventures by sending activity boxes to your home. You won’t have to pay for anything, and all the details of the day are planned for you… so you can enjoy just being together as a family and take your mind off the next doctor’s appointment, hospital stay, or procedure."



A Kid Again: PMC Parent Perspective

One of our own PMC All Stars got to experience the benefits of this awesome program first hand when they sponsored a trip to Kings Dominion for local families in June. Maddox and his family have been through a difficult year filled with a lot of doctor and therapy appointments, hospitalizations, and insurance battles. He was recently hospitalized for a week right before their A Kid Again adventure and his amazing supermom, Bethany, said the trip was just such a blessing.


"It gave us something fun to look forward to during our difficult week with little to no sleep. Everyone who attended was so helpful and understanding. Everywhere we went someone was asking 'Do you need anything?' It was also just nice to have an opportunity to connect with other families who are going through similar things. It meant so much to us for Maddox to have the opportunity to just be a kid and run around and play like everyone else."


 Part of A Kid Again's awesome mission is that these adventures are totally free for families who attend. They really understand how difficult things can be for these families and when you are spending all your money on medical care, it can be hard to find room in the budget for fun and adventures. Bethany was so grateful for this as well. Being a single mom who is only able to work part-time due to all of Maddox's medical appointments, it's hard to justify spending money on things like this. Bethany said "All we had to pay for was the gas to get down there and anything extra we wanted to buy. A Kid Again provided everything else which was so awesome!"


Thank you A Kid Again for working so hard to support the kids and families we love! We are so grateful to have a resource like this that we can share with everyone. It is so important to make time to enjoy and celebrate the time you have with the people you love and that can be hard to do in the busyness of life. Thank you for reminding us how important it is to take time to be A Kid Again.


Helpful Links

*Photos and story shared with permission

*Reference from A Kid Again from https://akidagain.org/


July 2, 2025
Getting a selective eater to try new foods is a process. Keep in mind that the goal is to provide your child with the opportunity to be exposed to new foods. Continue to introduce them to unfamiliar foods, have them see that you eat and enjoy them, all the while making sure they have safe foods that they know they can count on. Giving your child permission helps to reduce anxiety around new foods. Inviting your child to be around and try new foods is a very different experience than forcing them to try new foods.
July 1, 2025
With summer here, your kiddos are likely on a constant hunt for snacks. To help them develop healthy eating habits, try spacing meals and snacks about two hours apart. This gives their little tummies time to feel hungry, enjoy a snack, and recognize when they’re full. When kids “graze” throughout the day—eating small amounts here and there—their bodies have a harder time learning to recognize hunger and fullness cues. Grazing can also lead to more frequent choices of less nutritious, grab-and-go snacks. Let's Support Healthier Habits To support healthier habits, pre-plan snack options and post a visual snack “menu” on the fridge. This gives kids structure, helps them feel independent, and encourages better choices. And why not make snack time fun and educational? Try simple food crafts together—it’s a great way to bond with your child(ren), have fun in the kitchen, and explore possible new foods at the same time! UNDER THE SEA: Shark Snack Cups from Mommy's Fabulous Finds Festive treat made with yogurt, jello, cool whip, graham crackers and optional gummy shark Shark Week Bait from Alex Daynes A lighter treat that includes popcorn, white chocolate chips, f ood coloring/sprinkles, Sixlet Candies, gummy sharks, and pretzel goldfish Candy Sushi from Happy Family Recipes Themed snack made with Rice Krispie Treats (butter, marshmallows, vanilla, Rice Krispie Cereal) Fruit Roll-Ups, large Swedish fish, mini Swedish Fish BEACH + ANIMAL THEMES: Beach Bear Dirt Cups from Made To Be A Momma Celebrate summer with pool inspired lounging! Ingredients include: Teddy Grahams, white chocolate pudding, milk, cool whip, graham crackers, gummy life savers Curious George Snack from Mess for Less (tip, Read a Curious George book to go along with this one!) Enjoy a book and a snack with this Curious George inspired snack! Ingredients include: Nutella, s liced bananas, b lueberries, r ice cakes Animal Tracks Snacks from Loreen Leedy Great snack for the outdoorsy kid who enjoys animals! You can use a variety of ingredients including: cheese, crackers, pretzels, cream cheese, almonds and pepperoni FOR THE NATURE LOVER: Nature Snacks : Edible Crafts for Kids - Parties With A Cause A large variety of snacks for nature lover of all kinds including all sorts of flora and fauna options! POPSICLES: Fresh Fruit Popsicles from One Little Project How to Make Fruit Popsicles with Real, Fresh Fruit Strawberry Breakfast Popsicles from Fraiche Living We can imagine all sorts of variations of this recipe! Start with the following simple ingredients: yogurt, fresh strawberries, milk (or your choice) lemon juice and granola Frozen Yogurt Banana Pops from Kalejunkie Such a simple, yet festive recipe that uses ingredients commonly found in the kitchen such as bananas, yogurt and sprinkes! FOOD IMPOSTERS: Pancake Donuts from Balanced with Babies Made with just two ingredients: pancake mix and milk! You will need a fun donut shaped mold for this recipe Breakfast Banana Split - Art From My Table Ingredients include: banana, yogurt, blackberries, raspberries, granola, mini chocolate chips Fruit Cracker Pizzas from Sunshine & Hurricanes Crackers + cream cheese + fruit! Watermelon Rice Krispy Treats from My Heavenly Recipes Festive treat to be shared! Made with butter, marshmallows, R ice Krispies, food coloring and chocolate chips
June 18, 2025
What is kyphosis? Can I prevent it? Can I address the symptoms? Can a physical therapist at the Pediatric Movement Center help? We'll answer all these questions and more it today's blog post!
June 17, 2025
Think your child is "just" clumsy? They may have Developmental Coordination Disorder, DCD, an infrequently known, but very treatable condition that affects 5%-6% of school aged children! Medical specialists, such as pediatric physical therapists, pediatric occupational therapists, and neurologists can help address the underlying nervous system and muscular issues contributing to DCD.
By Brian Snyder June 16, 2025
Bilateral Coordination
June 4, 2025
Exposing children to food through various activities like cooking, coloring and sensory play/projects enhances their understanding of food, leading to healthier eating habits. Try a sensory project, like making snacklaces!
Show More