Parents do not conceal diseases children

Parents should not hide their own illnesses to the children

(25.08.2010) The Federal Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) thereupon knows that it is better for children when dealing with illnesses in the family openly. "Children quickly realize that something is wrong, knowing what's causing them helps them with more than unsuspecting uncertainty," says BVKJ board member Hans-Jürgen Nentwich. Therefore, serious diseases of the parents should be openly communicated.

In this case, the child does not have to know in detail about the state of the parents, but much more generally be informed in the simplest possible terms about the illness of a parent. So it is enough, according to Nentwich z. For example, tell preschoolers that a parent is ill and needs to see a doctor. Possible physical consequences (eg chemotherapy) should be mentioned in this context. Also, the pupils should always be made aware that they have not caused the disease and that they do not automatically become ill. In addition, it is important for infants in parental diseases with foreseeable fatalities once again to clarify that dying is not infected ...

For schoolchildren, parents should describe in more detail what they are sick with and what the consequences may be. According to the expert, this is not about the presentation of worsed case scenarios, but rather about making it clear to the children that the ill parent can not be as good for them as they normally are. From the age of twelve, Nentwich continues to know about parental illness and the potential consequences and uncertainties of treatment.

According to the expert of the BVKJ, "children and adolescents (...) can react differently to the news of the illness of a parent, from bedwetting to aggression to total foreclosure.“ Guardians should therefore not hesitate and ask their pediatrician for help, advises Nentwich. (Fp)