Having a child with a chronic disease is stressful experience not only for the parents, but also for the siblings as they too, unfortunately get the upshots.
Still, family-based educational interventions can improve the conditions of children with chronic illness, specifically asthma and diabetes, suggests a study.
Among all the chronic diseases, asthma is the most common disease among children and prevalent in most countries including Oman.
“Parents should be recognised as equal partners in the education of children with chronic diseases. They should be seen as a valuable source of information about the children”, opines the study by Dr Ali Kemal Tekin at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU).
Parents are the primary educators of their children in early years of life. It is critical to understand their role in any aspect of the children’s education. Through parent involvement, the children can have many benefits.
BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS
Children with chronic health conditions tend to have more behaviour problems and anxiety. This complicates the problems of illness management, affects the relationship between parents and children and creates yet another valuable source of stress for parents.
“Parents should be aware of each step in their children’s education, regardless of their social and edu-cational background, cultural differences, age and gender”, urges Dr Ali, who is associate professor in the Department of Early Education in SQU.
Most interventions and treatments for families caring for a child who has a chronic illness have focused on a medical model, using education or family-based educational interventions to improve the likelihood that families will maintain treatment at home.
According to the study, parents should be trained about how to be involved in their children’s educa-tion. They should be provided with training programmes by professionals in order to improve their knowledge, skills, and dispositions about how to contribute to their children’s education.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES
Parents should also be given opportunities to participate in volunteering activities. There should be proper communication between home and school.
At the same time, the study suggests that teacher education programme should cover the topics about parent involvement practices, how to deal with such disadvantaged children in the classroom, how to prepare alternative activities to improve their psychological conditions and adapt their lives.
“A teacher should possess enough knowledge, skills and dispositions about how to work with the parents of children with chronic diseases”, adds the study.
Making sure the child’s illness is well managed, and keeping their daily life as normal as possible is vital. Making regular visits to the doctor and other health professionals, collaborating to develop a treat-ment plan that works for the child and family, and regularly reviewing how their child is faring and whether their management plan is still effective are essential.
Talking openly and honestly with siblings about what is happening at a level they can understand shouldn’t be forgotten. Caring for a child with a chronic health condition takes up a lot of parents’ time and energy. Siblings can feel worried, stressed, angry, or left out.
Often there is less attention for them, as the family concentrates on the sick child, and they may feel uninformed or uninvolved in what is happening.
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