Helping Kids Cope When Their Parent Has Cancer
Coping is what a person does to deal with difficult situations or uncomfortable feelings. Sometimes people talk about healthy versus unhealthy coping skills.
This means finding ways to deal with big feelings that don’t cause harm to yourself or others and that help not only in the moment, but for the future too.
When a family faces a parent’s cancer, it’s a good time to figure out what coping skills are helpful for kids at home.
Here are 5 easy tips to start with:
Prioritize the basics: food, water, and sleep
Talk about the tough stuff
Do something creative together
Spend time in a place kids love
Practice taking big, deep breaths together
With these easy tips in mind your kids can begin to identify health ways to cope that will help them thrive through and beyond a parent’s cancer diagnosis.
Take advantage of more support and resources designed by experts for families like yours. Check out our schedule for upcoming webinars by to support parents navigating cancer led by our expert team. You can also order your free Pickles Family Cancer Support Kit, and enroll your kids in our peer-to-peer programs for kids affected by their parent’s cancer.
