The charity now has over 30 resources that offer support to families whose children have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
The new factsheet is designed to support parents in having conversations with their child about his or her life-limiting condition. It also provides guidance on how to speak to siblings and gives details on how to access further support.
Importantly, it does advise that parents have these conversations with their child, explaining at the beginning of the leaflet: “We know from research that children cope best with the realities of their condition when they are given honest, age appropriate information about their condition and the chance to ask questions.”
The factsheet covers 11 areas that parents might want to think about when discussing the issues with their children. They include: ‘Telling them it’s not their fault’, ‘Keeping it in the present’, and ‘Preparing them well for the future’.
Earlier this year, the National Council for Palliative Care and Together for Short Lives published a guide called ‘Difficult conversations’ which aimed to help families and professionals with discussing end of life issues with young adults.
The factsheet can be downloaded from the Together for Short Lives website.
Leave a Reply