Family Matters: Telling the Kids

With rare exceptions, you should tell your children about your condition. Have you
ever tried to keep a secret from a child? It’s impossible. They eavesdrop. They hear the
news from other children or adult friends. If you
need help in telling them the news, seek help from
a support group, a therapist, or a school psycholo-
gist.
If your children are still young, your first job is to
reassure them that no matter what happens, they’ll
be taken care of. If your children are adults, you
may want to keep your grandchildren in mind.
With adult children, your relationship with them
will dictate the approach you take. If you’re very
close, you’ll probably know how to tell them and
how they’ll react. If you’re not close, you may
have more difficulty.
Let’s see. What’s a mom for? Laundry, cooking,
hugging, teaching, and taking care of the kids. But
what happens now, when you may need some tak-
ing care of yourself, when you need the hugs? If
you’re like most moms, learning to ask for such
things from your children, even if they’re adult
children, may be very difficult.