Siblings of Patients Need Support, Too
Published on in Health Tip of the Week
Published on in Health Tip of the Week
When your child has a medical condition, it’s clear that special attention is needed to help that child through treatments, hospitalizations, and the emotions that can come with a serious health problem. But what about your other children — the healthy siblings who may worry about their brother or sister and miss you when you can’t be home?
“It's important for parents to realize that brothers and sisters need as much attention and support as the child with an illness, and sometimes even more,” says Katie Price, a certified child life specialist with the Cardiac Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). “In the same way you feel intense emotions when a child is ill, children feel a range of strong feelings in response to a sibling’s health problems. They need your attention and support to get through what can be a stressful time for the whole family.”
When a child is hospitalized or requires ongoing medical care, siblings may feel jealous, guilty, fearful, angry, sad or confused. And different siblings may have very different emotional responses. Even when these feelings are not voiced, they can be expressed in behavior. You may notice well siblings acting out, clinging to you, withdrawing, regressing to habits of a younger age, or having difficulty sleeping.
These are very normal childhood reactions to a serious health problem in the family. And they are a sign that your children need your love and support now more than ever. Even though you are probably worried yourself and may feel pulled in many directions, it’s important to listen and validate these feelings without judgment.
Children can feel left out of a sibling’s care, especially during hospitalizations. Look for how to involve your children in ways that help them feel needed and connected. That could be through regular Facetime calls or text messaging or by making artwork to decorate the hospital room.
Hospital visits can be helpful, as allowed and appropriate. Prepare your children for what they will see, using honest, age-appropriate language. Help young children prepare a bag of quiet activities for themselves to help pass the time.
The hospital’s child life specialists can help make visits from young siblings a positive and therapeutic experiences. Be sure to ask for their guidance before a visit, and find out if a specialist can be available to spend time with your visiting child.
Contributed by: Katie Price
Date: October 2018
Categories: Health Tip of the Week