Parenting Children with Chronic Illness

Raising a child with chronic illness – a blessing in disguise.

Parenting a child with chronic illness requires more strength, resolve, perseverance and courage than we likely ever dreamed possible, yet it also blesses us with the gifts of compassion, perspective, presence, and profound love as we are daily drawn closer to Christ.

Chronic Joy Ministry offers awareness materials for chronic illness, which highlight the significant impact of illness on every aspect of life – parenting, marriage, family, faith, finances, friendships, education, hobbies and work.

FREE printable Chronic Illness Awareness Fact Sheet creates awareness, grows knowledge and supports education in a quick and easy format with those in your sphere of influence – friends, family, churches, small group communities, co-workers and neighbors.

The DID YOU KNOW? Awareness Campaign features images posted across our social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and even Linkedin. LIKE or FOLLOW Chronic Joy to see us in your feed, then like and share the images to increase awareness.

Begin the conversation with the question, DID YOU KNOW?

And you will be changing the landscape for children affected by chronic physical and/or mental illness.

Because the statistics show that either you or someone you love is affected by chronic illness – far more people than most realize.

Together, as we raise awareness, increase knowledge, and utilize educational materials tailored for all who are affected by chronic  illness reminding each other and ourselves that while chronic illness is hard, there is hope.

There is always hope.

DID YOU KNOW?

Chronic Illness

Chronic Illness affects 42% of children¹, Approximately 32 million children (aged 0-17 years) in the US.²

29 % have two or more chronic conditions.¹
 About 25% of children in the US aged 2 to 8 years have a chronic health condition.³

Approximately 50% of people affected by rare disease are children.⁴

30% of children with rare disease don’t see their fifth birthday.⁴ 

Mental Illness

Almost 50% of teens in the US have a mental disorder. ⁵

Mental illness globally impacts 16 % of adolescents aged 10-19 years. ⁶

1 in 6 U.S. children aged 2-8 years (17.4%) are diagnosed with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder.⁷

Globally, depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents. ⁴

Suicide is the third leading cause of death of young people aged 15–19 years. ^{6, 8}

50% of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14 and 75% by age 24. ⁷

Almost half of adolescents with mental health issues do not receive any mental health services.⁹

Click here for detailed statistics. 

ARTICLES

To Those Caring for Sick Children, Lexi Behrndt

“You are heroes. You are angels. You get to see miracles happen daily at your job. You get to see little lives come back after catastrophe and devastation, and you watch as they heal and grow and smile again.

And then sometimes you don’t.”

To the Momma of a Critically and Chronically Ill Child, Lexi Behrndt

“You are brave. You are strong. You are loving. You fight for your children when they can’t fight for themselves. You hope for them and you stay positive for them, and then run to the bathroom just to cry in the stall where they can’t see. You research and talk to doctors and talk to other parents to find the best possible treatment plans and solutions to give the best life to your child…You go to the places no one wants to go. You know a side of the world that most would like to pretend doesn’t exist.”

Parenting Through Chronic Illness, Rachelle Wiggins

“For the past decade, God has allowed me the gracious trial of raising my children from the bed of chronic illness.  The learning curve was steep: I battled against the desire to be more and do more while living within the limitations of a broken body. Over time, I recognized a few principles that helped me survive — and still be a good parent — during the storm of ongoing illness.”

VIDEO

Welcome to Holland, Emily Perl Kingsly

Trying to describe being the parent of a child with a disability or chronic illness can be very challenging. This short video offers a beautiful and creative explanation.

“The loss of that dream [a well child] is a very significant loss, but if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.”

WEBSITES

ONLY 7 SECONDS

Remember that time when you felt like disappearing and were sure no one would even notice? That moment was real. So real, that millions are experiencing the same moments of hopelessness in their daily lives. Your story is important. Isolation, depression and anxiety are real, and they have a bigger effect on our lives than we realize. It only takes seven seconds. Send one simple message. You could impact a life, forever.

When Kristin Wall’s son, Ethan, was bedridden for twenty-three days, he missed a lot more than school and the regional basketball championships. Over the course of his illness not one friend or teammate reached out to him, and as Kristin observed, that had a devastating impact on her son’s mental state. “I watched him go into depression,” she said. “These boys are boys I’ve fed and treated like sons for years… and not a single text came through.” 

“Because of everything my family went through with my son and what our small town had faced, I felt led to create a movement called #only7seconds.” The goal of the movement was simple: spread kindness through thoughtfulness. “Take seven seconds out of your day to send a text telling someone that you are thinking of them.” To Kristin, this simple thought meant everything. “You never know if that text could be the one thing giving them an inkling that life is worth living.”