Psychological Impact on Parents with a Severely Sick Child Every loving parent’s first priority is to make sure their children are healthy. When a child becomes sick, their parents are forced to make a lot of difficult decisions. These are decisions they are willing to make no matter the cost. There are several problems that contribute to psychological issues involving parents with a sick child. The problems include the following: struggling to come visit their child in the hospital, having to stop working for a period of time, and having to explain to the child what is happening to them. These problems parents face result in psychological issues that the parents have to battle. They forfeit their regular daily routine to be by their
…show more content…
Approximately 35,000 children are currently being treated for cancer (Kids v Cancer, 2010). This statistic shows the true magnitude of the number of children that have to stay in hospitals for long periods of time. If 37 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone every day, twice as many parents have to prepare for a lifestyle change. There are still hundreds of other illnesses or problems children can encounter that can put them in the hospital for a long time. Parents have to make a lot of big decisions very quickly and often times with very little knowledge on the …show more content…
The thing that causes the depression to set in is the stress of not knowing if their child is going to live or die. Parents have to worry about where they are going to get money, food, and sleep. They have to worry about their jobs and how they are going to work when they have a child in the hospital. All of this stress builds up and can eventually causes depression (Parenting and Child Health). Once the depression sets in, there is a whole new battle to face. If one parent becomes depressed, the other parent has to take care of their sick child, and their own spouse. When depression starts in one parent it often hits the next parent shortly after. If a single parent with a child in the hospital gets depressed, that parent can not possibly function well enough to be there to support their family or their other children. Depression can lead to illness and other internal problems the family must face. Marriages have failed because of problems that originated from a child with a life threatening illness. Depression is a disease of the brain and if it is not treated, more problems will arouse (Anderson, 2010). The child will always look toward their mother and father as a source of strength and knowledge. If a sick chid sees his/her mother or father struggling with the situation, how can that kid expect him/herself to get through
Approximately 35,000 children are currently being treated for cancer (Kids v Cancer, 2010). This statistic shows the true magnitude of the number of children that have to stay in hospitals for long periods of time. If 37 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone every day, twice as many parents have to prepare for a lifestyle change. There are still hundreds of other illnesses or problems children can encounter that can put them in the hospital for a long time. Parents have to make a lot of big decisions very quickly and often times with very little knowledge on the …show more content…
The thing that causes the depression to set in is the stress of not knowing if their child is going to live or die. Parents have to worry about where they are going to get money, food, and sleep. They have to worry about their jobs and how they are going to work when they have a child in the hospital. All of this stress builds up and can eventually causes depression (Parenting and Child Health). Once the depression sets in, there is a whole new battle to face. If one parent becomes depressed, the other parent has to take care of their sick child, and their own spouse. When depression starts in one parent it often hits the next parent shortly after. If a single parent with a child in the hospital gets depressed, that parent can not possibly function well enough to be there to support their family or their other children. Depression can lead to illness and other internal problems the family must face. Marriages have failed because of problems that originated from a child with a life threatening illness. Depression is a disease of the brain and if it is not treated, more problems will arouse (Anderson, 2010). The child will always look toward their mother and father as a source of strength and knowledge. If a sick chid sees his/her mother or father struggling with the situation, how can that kid expect him/herself to get through