Cases: What Do I Say To My Kids?

DISCUSSION: Young children who are informed of their parents’ terminal illness are less anxious than those who are not told , but many terminally ill parents are daunted by this emotionally stressful task. Deciding how to break the news to children is made more difficult when taking into account the developmental level of each child. Palliative Care Teams often have several books available that guide parents through the process of discussing death and dying with their children. Parents’ abilities to apply the information in these books can be further enhanced with a session provided by the behavioral medicine consultant. The individual session allows parents to tailor their approach to their own families and to practice having and controlling very powerful feelings. References 1.  Seccareccia D. (2008). When a parent is dying: Helping parents explain death to their children.  Can Fam Physician. 54 (12): 1693-1694. (OPEN ACCESS PDF) 2. Rosenheim, E., Reicher, R. (1985). Informing children about a parent’s terminal illness. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Disc. 26:995-998. 3. Siegel, K., Raveis, V., Karus, D. (1996). Pattern of communication with children when a parent has cancer. In L. Baider, L. Cooper (Eds) Cancer and the family, pp 109-128. John Wiley and Sons: New York. 4. Sinclair CT. (2012) What is the right age for chilldren to go to a funeral? Pallimed [internet]. Original Case by Ellen Redinbaugh, PhD, Edited by Christian Sinclair, MD...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Carer Workers Authors: Source Type: blogs