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Impact of child illness on child and family

Introduction

Each family has a child with illness affected by experience. The effects on the
family and their responses are so critical that directly and indirectly influence the
other members’ reactions and the child’s own coping. Also being an ill child, child
also differ its response from that of adults.

Impact on family

A major goal in working with the family of the child with illness is to support
the family’s coping and promoting optimum functioning throughout the child’s life.
The impact of the child’s illness on the family are often experienced as crisis. It is
important for a pediatric nurse to work in assessing, diagnosing and giving care to
child and as well as to the family.

Impact on parents

Besides graving for the loss of a perfect child, parents may or may not receive a
positive feed back from transactions with their child. Many parents feel satisfaction
and fulfillment in parenting role. For example: parents may become preoccupied with
their ability to carry out certain procedure, overlooking the child’s personal comfort
and satisfaction or feeling to offer praise for anything less than perfect cooperation or
performances. They may pensive a frustrating activity until they achieve success, long
after the child has become irritable and uncooperative. For these parents several
strategies may help like Education regarding what actually happened to child what is
the treatment of choice, and hoe is the prognosis?
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Mother and Father Difference

Even though mother and father both are regarded as parents, the effect is
differing from each other. Majority of the mother will have severe crisis during child
illness and father have a steady and gradual response. Some study shows that mothers
of sick children have a greater risk of getting psychosis than fathers. During this time
mothers may forget the personal care about health and other factors. Fathers worry
about the future holds for the child, as well as about their ability to manage the
increasing financial burden.

Single parent family

These groups are to be special concern. The absence of the one parent may be,

• Divorce

• Death

• Haven’t married

A single parent of child with illness will feel enormous burden of financial and
emotional needs. Nurse can help by giving psychological support, and also giving options
to select the financial support source.

Impact on siblings

Limited studies have done on the impact on the siblings. Majority of available
resources have shone that brothers and sisters of sick children have a greater chance of
maladjustments. Some studies say that siblings have both positive and negative feeling
on the hospitalized child. For example a sick child who is admitted may get greater
attention from the parents at the same time frequency of hospitalization may disturb
the family process and routine. These things will make child to become maladjusted
with the condition and potentially child will show the behavioral abnormalities in
family and also in school environment
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Extended Family Members and society

In addition to the parents and siblings significant family members and/or

friends may experience the effects. Even though extended family members will help
parents in child rearing they may also become the source of stress. Studies shows that
most grand parents have a double grief, in the form of their grand children and their
own children. The family members need guidelines in preparing for inevitable events
of stress.

Impact on child

The child’s reaction to an illness is greatly depended on the developmental

stage. The understanding about age also on duration of the disease and hospitalization

Infants

During infancy the child is engaged in the task of developing trust through
intimate, satisfying, and consistent relationships with his parents. When illness strikes
these relationships is potentially affects and child will get negative socialization in the
form of developing mistrust.

Toddler

The toddler is the stage of autonomy the need for mastery of locomotion and
language skills paramount. When illness can hinder the mobility and derivates the
mastery. In addition over protective parents can magnifies the problem by setting
limitation to child exploration for the fear of injury. Hospitalization will separate child
from parents and its enjoyment

Preschooler

The preschooler is at stage of imitativeness. Numerous tasks are achieved

during this stage that can be hampered by illness. These will limit the child learning
about environment, especially in terms of social development. An hospitalized child
may delays in social development.
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School age

During this stage normally child wants to be enjoying with the peers rather than
the family members. Peers have greater influence in child development.
Hospitalization will restrict him to be with peers this will make a school child to feel
inadequacy. At the same time bad grading at the school will make child isolated from
the peers.

Adolescents

The impact of illness may be most difficult during adolescent age group. The
major task of this age is development of self concept hospitalization will alter his
towards himself. This will lead to greater emotional disability in the form of,

Inferiority

Depression

Withdrawn

Irritable

Moody

Emotional

Conclusion

A major goal in working with the family of the child with illness is to support
the family’s coping and promoting optimum functioning throughout the child’s life.
The impact of the child’s illness on the family are often experienced as crisis. It is
important for a pediatric nurse to work in assessing, diagnosing and giving care to
child and as well as to the family.
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PLAY
The universal media of play children learn what no one can teach them. They
learn about their world and how to deal with this environment of objects, time, space,
structure, and people. They learn about themselves operating within the environment.
Play is the work of child in the play continually practices the complicated stressful
process of living, communicating, and achieving satisfactory relationships eith other
people.

Classifications of Play

Play can be classified in to 5 major types

1. Onlooker play

2. Solitary play

3. Parallel play

4. Associative play

5. Cooperative play

Onlooker play [New born]

During this child will look at others enjoys itself sometimes child tries out to
enter in to play

Solitary play [infancy]

In this period child play alone with toys different from those used by other
children. They enjoys presence of children but doesn’t effort to involve in them in
play.
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Parallel play [Toddler]

In parallel play children will play together independently but with other
children. They play with toys like others are uses. Each plays besides but not together.

Associative play

In associative play children will play together and engaged in similar or

even identical activities, but there is no organization division of labor, leaderships, and
assignment or mutual goals

Cooperative play

In this organized and children play in a group with other children. They discuss
and plan the activities for the purpose of accomplishment or an end to make
something, to attain a competitive goal, to dramatize situations of adult or group life
or to play formally.

Functions of play

Sensory motor development

Intellectual development

Socialization

Creativity

Self awareness

Therapeutic value

PLAY THERAPY
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Definition:

“It is defined as a psychological technique used by trained and qualified

therapist as an interpretive method with emotional disturbed child”

Play provides one of the best opportunities for encouraging emotional

expression, including the self release of anger and hostility.

Functions of play in hospital

 Provides diversion and brings about relaxation

 Helps the child to feel more secure

 Provides means of relaxation from stress

 Encourage interaction

 Provide creative outlets

Types of activities in hospital

Divisional activities

Almost of any type of play will divert the child from stress and also used as
recreations, but activities should be selected according to the age, level of activities
and interest of the child. Children will be left to play with raw materials and no
directions should be given just all need to do is a observation

Expressive activities

Play itself aids in expressive form for the child. In these type activities children
will be given materials to play through they will play and will express their anger,
pain or any feelings.

Ex: painting
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Dramatic play

Dramatic play is a well recognized technique for emotional release, allowing

children to freighting or puzzling hospital environment. Dramatic play enables
children to learn about procedures and events that will be done in hospital

Conclusion

The universal media of play children learn what no one can teach them. They
learn about their world and how to deal with this environment of objects, time, space,
structure, and people. They learn about themselves operating within the environment.
Play is the work of child in the play continually practices the complicated stressful
process of living, communicating, and achieving satisfactory relationships with other
people.