All subscribers and Barbara Zimmerman
You asked what and how to say to young children about your disease. To my
experience children always make it easy to be in this matters quite plain.
Children don't react with embarassment as adults tend to do.I bet everyone-
knows the situation of a child staring curious at you and the mother being
embarassed and angry with the child. However it is not the child,but the
parent who makes troubles.
I think it is important always to say something about it meeting the first
time. My children were 10 and 12 year when I started my career as pd
patient. They always prepared their friends taking them home. It has never
been a problem. They never felt they were inhibited in taking friends home.
Your children being 5 are yet to young to solve it that way. I can't give
of course no standard solution but sometimes I could make young children
laugh with this: Child: Why do ypu do that
I : I don't do that, my hand does it all by itself. Can
your hand do something by itself?
However humour can be very culture dependent, so.... try it
Ida Kamphuis
