Customer Reviews

Coping With Your Child's Chronic Illness

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4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a parent of a child who has been newly diagnosed with a chronic illness, I found this book tactlessly and minimally covered the topic of caring for a chronically ill child. The writing is condescending in its lack of depth and sensitivity. There is a review of the stages of grieving, explaining that parents can expect a pit stop at most of them. But there is not a single sentence dedicated to stories of how parents dealt with these five stages. This is obviously written by someone who has no children as there is absolutely no heart in it and, again, it is incredibly condescending in its instruction to parents. Chapter 3- Becoming An Advocate: ...for you child's physical and emotional health, your family's needs and your own needs. The short version is MOTHER and FATHER -- since when is that limited to parents of sick kids? And haven't we been doing that since our little angels graced the planet? Duh!
Also, for $10 for 95-page book (an outrageous and ego-grandizing sum), I at least expect it to be typeset correctly. The list for becoming an advocate for yourself is repeated twice just in case we're too dense to get it the first time.
There is a good alternative to this book, "Chronic Kids, Constant Hope." It is written by parents who have chronic kids.

This brief but highly readable guide for parents with children coping with chronic illness is a must. Written in an informed style and with sensitivity for parents trying to make the best of the lives for their children.

This book was written in 1999 in an age before ready access to health information and support through the Internet and has not been updated since then (don't go by the date next to the publisher's information). It is a VERY basic primer, a mere introduction for parents. Spend your money on a more current and in-depth book.

I would rate this book as "OK". It shared some valuable information, however it was entirely too short to cover the numerous topics in any real detail. I would recommend it for someone who is trying to figure out what information they should seek out. It was a quick & easy read, so not a complete waste of time. I do agree with the above poster that it can be condescending and annoyingly repetitive. Borrow it, this holds absolutely no long-term or reference value.