The purpose of this study was to explore the assessment process of child life specialists. During semi-structured interviews, twelve respondents talked about the experience of meeting a child and family for the first time, revealing aspects of the assessment process that developed in their ongoing interactions. The respondents spoke of building and maintaining relationships with children and families as a dynamic practice that occurred simultaneously with the gathering and maintaining of information. The how to of the assessment process, presented within the framework of main study questions, integrates declarative and procedural knowledge to reveal the humanistic aspects of child life practice.