When Your Child Has a Chronic Medical Illness: A Guide for the Parenting Journey

by Frank J. Sileo, Carol S. Potter

Written by leading mental health professionals, this warm and accessible parenting book for children with chronic illnesses offers clear, practical guidance for all aspects of the journey. Recommended by professionals at the American Diabetes Association, Invisible Disabilities Association, the Crohn's Colitis Foundation, and other expert national and regional sources. For all its joys, parenting is a complex job, and when your child has a chronic illness, the stress can feel overwhelming. When your child is diagnosed, you begin a parenting journey filled with strong emotions, difficult choices, confusing words, and interactions with numerous professionals and specialists.

You’re focused on ensuring your child gets the best possible treatments for their symptoms, so it’s easy to overlook or dismiss the impact the illness can have on your relationships and emotions. This book places your psychological well-being front and center, so you can be the best caregiver possible for your child.

Along with suggestions for making laughter and mindfulness part of your daily self-care routine, it offers guidance for choosing the right therapist for your family, should extra support be needed. Every family’s journey with chronic illness is unique, but you don’t have to go it alone. This book received the Silver Medal for Parenting in the Independent Publishers Awards.

Genres: Parenting

419 pages, Paperback

Published March 9, 2021

Reviews

[Heather Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that outlines so many useful tips and tricks to support parents when parenting a child with complex medical needs.

[Carolyn Amate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book is a very nice guide and Support to parents that have children with chronic illness. This book helps them deal with issues like anger, guilt, remorse and depression that most parents feel when faced with a child's chronic illness. This book gives practical guides to help one through it, such as meditation, prayer, therapy and mindfulness.
I felt this was a good practical book for parents who are struggling.

[Tonja Candelaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a lot of good tips relevant for parents of a child with any type of chronic illness. Even better, it’s written in a very straightforward but compassionate tone that goes beyond “doctor speak”.I’d describe it as an umbrella book book a little of everything.

I wish I’d had it years ago when this was all new to us and it felt like we were free-falling. While the book didn’t go in-depth on the specific information I’m currently hunting for, I still found it beneficial and can see myself referencing it in the future.