Welcome to Parenting Children with Health Issues, a first-of-its-kind program for parents of children with special healthcare needs. It was specifically created for caregivers who are raising (or work with) children with any chronic illness or medical condition including allergies, aids, asthma, birth defects, cancer, obesity, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, eating disorders, epilepsy, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, sickle cell anemia, traumatic injuries, etc.
If your child’s good health depends on routine medical, health or dietary care then this program provides essential information for you. It is also valuable for medical professionals, mental health professionals, and other caregivers who work with these children and their families.
Medical science is advancing so rapidly that many diseases now considered life threatening, life shortening or terminal will soon become treatable and perhaps simply a maintenance issue. Children who comply with their treatment programs have a much better chance of maintaining their optimum health potential in order to take advantage of revolutionary new treatments which most certainly loom on the horizon for many. This program is designed to give you the skills you need to increase the odds that your children will follow doctor’s orders, make good health decisions, and choose to live the fullest, richest life possible.
Parenting Children with Health Issues will help you respond to your children in ways that will encourage them to accept responsibility for their healthcare, while imparting hope and teaching coping skills. Even at an early age, it is critical that children accept the importance of complying with medical regimens, whether they are special diets, insulin shots, daily medication, breathing treatments, or physical therapy. Parenting styles have a huge impact on how well children accept responsibility and accountability for their healthcare.
All parents who face the daunting prospect of raising a child with a chronic medical condition experience similar psychological and behavioral challenges. Parents must avoid control battles over healthcare issues because these issues can become a manipulative “weapon” used by the child who, naturally, resists painful, unpleasant, or annoying medical procedures, especially in the potentially rebellious teenage years. Some particularly strong-willed children refuse to comply with medical requirements nearly to the point of death. The good news is that, with some easy-to-learn skills, parents can increase the odds that their kids will make good decisions about their lives.
This program will answer important questions such as:
- How do I encourage my child to really love life?
- How do I handle refusal to take medication?
- How do I encourage my child’s concern for her illness without frightening her?
- How can I best separate the “can’ts” from the “won’ts"?
- How do I encourage responsibility without harping, nagging, or lecturing?
- How do I communicate with my child about his/her illness in ways he/she will understand?
As we examine these and other difficult issues that arise when parenting a child with medical challenges, we use a wide variety of examples from different medical conditions. Many of our examples focus on the genetic disease, cystic fibrosis. CF is used as a paradigm for all ongoing childhood medical issues because it is an illness with a broad range of medical care requirements.
CF families children are required to implement a variety of strategies for managing their child's particular symptoms. These include daily breathing treatments, the management of dietary requirements, extensive and multiple hospitalizations, coping with invasive medical procedures and tests, taking massive amounts of oral and/or intravenous medications and possible organ transplants. It is not uncommon for those with CF to also have secondary diseases, such as diabetes and liver problems. Since, at the time of this writing, CF is a very serious disease with life-shortening implications, this illness can more than adequately cover the spectrum of illnesses from the most severe to the least critical.
We hope the information presented in this program will support, teach, and inspire you as your family copes with the challenging issues of parenting very special children who live each day with medical conditions. Be a great parent… when every moment matters.
