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!
Some Days: A Tale of Love, Ice Cream, and My Mom’s Chronic Illness
By Julie A. Stamm
The author gave me a free digital version of the book, but I was not compensated and all opinions in this review are my own.
This is a story about Wyatt and his mom, Rosie. Wyatt explains that his mom has multiple sclerosis (though he isn’t sure how to pronounce it!) But Wyatt does understand that MS changes what his mom is able to do from day to day.
Wyatt shares how he and his mom make the best of situations when she isn’t feeling well – and they have lots of creative ideas for how they can still spend time together. Wyatt also shares different ways that he is able to help his mom when she’s having a bad day. Through playful illustrations and creative examples, the reader learns the most important lesson Wyatt has to teach: that his mom loves him more than anything – even more than ice cream! – no matter what sort of day it is.
This book can help children understand that a parent living with a chronic illness may feel differently from day to day. It also reinforces the message that parents love their children no matter how they may be feeling. Wyatt and his mom have some pretty creative suggestions for how they can make potentially unpleasant days still feel special. Although the mom in this story is living with MS, this book could be useful for initiating discussion with kids about a variety of chronic illnesses, particularly those that are invisible.
The author of the book, Julie A. Stamm, has a young son and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis herself in 2007. You can learn more about the book and the author here.
📚📚Want to purchase your own copy of “Some Days”? 📚📚Please use our Amazon Affiliates link by clicking here! Mamas Facing Forward may receive commission at no extra cost to you. Those funds will go towards providing more resources for moms and moms-to-be living with chronic illness, so thanks for using our links!
