Behavioral Issues

Behavioral Issues

Kids with chronic illnesses certainly require extra "tender loving care", but also need the routines of childhood. The foremost — and perhaps trickiest — task for worried parents is to treat a sick child as normally as possible.
Despite the circumstances, this means setting limits on unacceptable behavior, sticking to normal routines, and avoiding overindulgence. This may seem impossible, particularly if you have feelings of guilt or an intense need to protect your sick child. But spoiling or coddling can only make it harder for a child to return to daily activities. When your child leaves the hospital for home, normalcy is the goal.

Dealing With Siblings

Family dynamics can be severely tested when a child is sick. Clinic visits, surgical procedures, and frequent checkups can throw big kinks into everyone's schedules and take an emotional toll on the entire family.
To ease the pressure, seek help to keep the family routines as close to normal as possible. Friends and family members may be able to help handle errands, carpools, and meals. Siblings should continue to attend school and their usual recreational activities; the family should strive for normalcy and time for everyone to be together.
Flexibility is key. The "old normal" may have been the entire family around the table for a home-cooked meal at 6:00, while the "new normal" may be takeout pizza on clinic nights.
Also, consider talking with your other children's teachers or school counselors and let them know that a sibling in the family is ill. They can keep an eye out for behavioral changes or signs of stress among your kids.
It's common for siblings of a chronically ill child to become angry, sullen, resentful, fearful, or withdrawn. They may pick fights or fall behind in schoolwork. In all cases, parents should pay close attention, so that they don't feel pushed aside by the demands of their sick brother or sister.
It may also help them to be included in the treatment process when possible. Depending on their ages and maturity level, visiting the hospital, meeting the nursing and physician staffs, or accompanying their sick sibling to the clinic for treatments can also help make the situation less frightening and more understandable for the healthy siblings.

What they imagine about the illness and hospital visits are often worse than the reality. When they come to the hospital, they can develop a more realistic picture and see that, while unpleasant things may be part of the treatment, there are people who care about their sibling and do their best to help.