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Position paper draws attention to children of seriously ill parents

Tips and recommendations.


Children of parents who are seriously ill are still too much in the shadows. The working group KIEZO (Children of Seriously Ill Parents), of which the Knowledge Center for Palliative Care for Children is a part, asks with the position paper 'I just matter!' attention to this from healthcare professionals .

The position paper was presented by Meggi Schuiling, director of the Knowledge Center for Palliative Care for Children, to Saskia Teunissen, director of Palliative Care Netherlands. Teunissen, once a KIEZO child himself, indicated that he fully agreed with this: “Every child who, with tears streaming down their cheeks, has ever opened the front door to a GP who only says 'Hi, I'm coming for your father' and then goes on to the sick parent, knows how things could have been done differently.” The KIEZO working group has brought together numerous guidelines on 'how else' in a handy booklet.

Tips for supporting KIEZO children

The position paper contains tips on how healthcare professionals can give attention to children of seriously ill parents, such as:

  • support parents in communicating about the disease with their child(ren)
  • involving the child in the process of being ill and providing care for the parent (and making sure that this does not lead to too much informal care, as this can lead to the child being overloaded)
  • help mobilize the family's social network; for informal care tasks for the sick parent and for the child to develop as normally as possible. Think of family members, teachers, neighbors, and other people close to the family.
  • helping the child learn to deal with the (constantly changing) situation, increasing resilience and giving space to emotions
  • contributing to the healthiest possible relationships within the family (parent-child relationships, the relationship between parents and the relationship(s) between brothers and sisters)
  • act as a bridge between family and school, so that the people involved can optimally support the pupil
  • paying attention to living loss, making future memories (if it is clear that the parent will die from the (consequences of the) illness) and saying goodbye.

Recommendations for child-friendly care

The position paper also contains recommendations to make care provision for seriously ill parents 'child-friendly'. Such as: training for professionals in chronic and/or palliative care in the (possible) care needs of KIEZO children, knowledge of the (local/regional) social map for assistance to children, further research into the position of KIEZO children, with particularly to the impact of the diseased parent's prognosis on their lives.

Knowing more?

The position paper can be found here . Are you a parent or healthcare professional of a sick child and are you looking for help or more information? Then contact the Integral Child Care Network in your region. They can tell you more about the Impulse Mental Care subsidy, financial support for families when they want to make use of a chaplain or grief and loss counselor.


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