It really doesn’t matter if your child has a concern with one joint, several joints or a mix of symptoms that have you dispatched to a rheumatologist.
You find yourself going on a journey with your whole family. Your child may have the diagnosed condition but each person in your household is affected by the suffering and the uncertainty.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous quote, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself” has to be one of the most relevant sentences ever uttered. It is particularly useful for parents of a child with arthritis.
Fear of what lies ahead cheats us from being present to what we have now. There is no way to know what tomorrow holds so it is a waste of time to go there.
What we have is today. If we focus on the here and now we give ourselves and our children a priceless gift.
We also save ourselves from burning up energy of worries that may never materialise. Fear equals stress and that erodes both our health and happiness.
One stategy for parenting a child with arthritis is to just do what has to be done right now. If we stay in the moment we give ourselves the best chance of being effective parents.
What strategies do you use to keep fears at bay?
