Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> Kristin Kullgren, Ph.D.: It is normal to see emotional and behavioral regression
when kids are in the hospital for a long time and not feeling well.
So as a parent, I think understanding that is going to happen,
especially for younger kids can really help reduce parental anxiety about that.
So knowing that it's going to happen.
We also have a lot of resources here to support you if you have concerns
about how your child is coping with their illness or treatment
or the extent of hospitalization.
We have child life.
We have social work, spiritual care, psychology, psychiatry who are all very accessible
and even our nursing staff and physicians are very, very helpful in terms
of helping you negotiate that process.
I think it's really important that when kids have feelings and express them,
distress or upset about any part of the process that their feelings are validated.
We let them know that it's OK that they feel the way they do, and that we support them and work
with them to help to solve whatever problem it is that they're having.
A lot of families will stockpile video games and crafts and toys and comfort tools
and other things in the coming weeks before transplant and put those things aside
so that the kid doesn't have access to them, and that way you have things throughout the process
that you can pull out every couple of days that are special and fun.
It's really important that families bring home into the hospital room.
We want this to be your place while you're here as much as it's our place.
And so thinking about what are the things that make your home your home.
What are the things that make your child comfortable in your house?
Is it the special decorations that they have in their room?
You know, they like butterflies.
So you can bring some butterfly decals to put on the windows.
Maybe it's their cuddles or their special blanket or their favorite pajamas
or other clothes that provide a sense of normalcy and comfort to them.
Pictures of your dog.
Pictures of family members.
You know, whatever it is you think your kid might need here
to feel more like their selves you can bring.
Yeah. A lot of times parents also really struggle with how do you parent your child
when they're sick, and it's a really natural response to totally want
to shift your parenting strategies, especially when you're really scared
about your child's illness and their potential prognosis.
And often parents will tell me, you know, I just, I don't want them to be upset.
I want everything in their life to be going great right now.
I don't want to be the one they're mad at, and it's really hard to parent as usual
when you're going through a really stressful process like this.
However, I think that's the most important thing to do.
There's nothing that's more reassuring to a kid than knowing that the rules and limits
that happened before they got sick still happen now.
The other important thing to keep in mind when your child's sick and in the hospital is
that it can be a very out-of-control experience for them.
You know, they didn't choose to be sick.
They didn't choose to be in the hospital.
They're missing out on friends and normal things in their life, and so we work really hard to try
to instill as much choice and control as possible in a very out-of-control situation.
Thinking about ways to do that for your kid when they're in the hospital is going to be really,
really important, and it may be even the little things that, you know, if they have a couple
of cares that are going to be going on during the day,
they get to choose which one goes first.
They get to choose the activity for the day.
They can help to set their schedule for the day.
They can decide if they want to shower before or after they brush their teeth,
and those seem like really silly little petty things, but when you're sick,
and there's so much in your life that's not under your control,
even those little things can help you really feel normal and safe.