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

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.