Parenting through cancer treatment is tough so think about the following:
1. good enough parenting
Stop the feelings of guilt, change your parenting expectations, and create new rules (with the kids) to make life easier for everyone
2. Prepare
Before treatment prepare a load of very low energy activities so you can still connect with the kids - fill a box of pens, stickers, Lego etc
3. ask for help
Get family, friends, and even your kids, involved by delegating tasks to them - people want to help so give them a job
watch this workshop
In this workshop Sam Petrie, Maggie’s Family therapist in Edinburgh, helps us look at reframing being parent whilst dealing with cancer treatment.
Or read this guide:
Here are our favourite tools to help parents
Inside you’ll find many ideas for low energy activities
A long list of different household jobs and childcare tasks
Tell your kids what you can do at different energy levels
(You can find many more in the ‘Supporting your children’ pages)
We love these tools
1. how can i help?
Use this to create a list of jobs your kids can do. They often want to help but are unsure how. Check in with them regularly to see if the jobs are not too overwhelming
2. daily timetables/calendars
Create a daily timetable, or weekly or monthly calendar for older kids, that shows hospital appointments, rest days, school trips, family days out etc, so your kids know what to expect and are part of the plan
3. being good enough workshop
Penny Phillips, CEO of the charity The Parenting Village, provides some great insights in how ‘good enough’ parenting is achievable, and perfect parenting doesn’t exist
Or you can read the workshop guide here:
