The amount of information you should give them depends on their age and how grown up they are. Being honest is one thing but giving them all the information at once may be too much. Try spreading it out a bit to ease the shock of the inevitable outcome.
Questions can be answered on a 'need to know basis' initially but as more hospital vists are undertaken and the patient is unwell at times then more detail needs to be offered. Getting the same question over and over again from young children can be difficult at times but it should be realised that this is a normal part of their development.
Teenagers may have a particularly hard time as they now have to cope with additional strong emotions and extra responsibilies, as well as the usual emotions which are part of their development into adults. They may need to turn to others outside the family if they find it difficult to talk to family members e.g.family friend, teacher or counsellor.
Grief raises its head everywhere and it is important to reasure children that it is not their fault that this illness has happened. It seems to be common amongst children that they feel they are to blame and these feelings could last for some time.
Additionally, they may need to be put right about what they have heard from friends and other people as it may not be correct.
Children need to be dealt with sensitively but honestly. But manage the communication of information according to age, maturity and circumstances.
This article may be reproduced in its entirety provided the resource paragraph below is included and all urls kept active.
(c) Paul Curran, CEO of Cuzcom Internet Publishing Group and webmaster at Information on Mesothelioma, providing information about mesothelioma and mesothelioma news.
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
When I was 17 old I started working at an asbestos mine in the Yukon... Read More
Mesothelioma is a serious form of rare cancer... Read More
He was only a child when it begun -and he played as children do- in his yard with his toy cars and tip trucks But his sand was asbestos blue?In December 1999, my husband and I were walking home from a game of lawn bowls when I became aware of his shortness of breath... Read More
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer involving mesothelial tissues of body organs usually lungs or abdominal... Read More
Since the late 1800's Asbestos has been mined and used commercially... Read More
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles... Read More
It is documented that Australia had the highest per capita use of asbestos in the world from the 1950's until the 1970's... Read More