Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of motherhood with chronic illness is helping your children understand what is going on with your body and encouraging acceptance about how your illness may impact them. How can you help them develop empathy about what you’re experiencing, especially if your illness is invisible? Where’s the line between being honest and making them worry? What’s the best way to address their concerns in kid-friendly language? This is a topic that will likely need to be an ongoing discussion in your family – and sometimes reading a book together can help!
CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEW: What Does Super Jonny Do When Mom Gets Sick?
By Simone Colwill
Jonny loves to play superhero. When his mom gets sick and needs to go to the hospital, Super Jonny takes his sidekick Bear to visit her there. Together they meet the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff and they learn what each person does to help his mom. Super Jonny tries to figure out how he can help his mom too.
By reading this story, children can learn about hospitals – who they might meet and what might happen while visiting someone there. This can help make the hospital a less scary place! This book is also a great option because it isn’t specific to a particular chronic illness or reason for hospital admission, so it could be used to help kids through unplanned admissions (like a serious flare) or planned admissions (like a surgery).
The author of the book, Simone Colwill, is a mom living with Crohn’s disease. This is her first book for children and it is based on a true story. You can learn more and connect with her at sickmom.org.
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