Is Your Child Too Young To Be Achy and Sore?

Does your child feel achy and unable to get him/herself out of bed when (s)he wakes up? Do you wonder why your child can’t get going while his/her brothers and sisters are dashing out of bed and out of the door in half the time that it takes your arthritic child? Does your child have swollen joints and sometimes have pain in his/her joints?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your child may have some type of arthritis. There is no set age for kids to get arthritis. Some newborn babies already have the disease. So, arthritis is no longer considered merely an old person’s disease.

If you don’t know whether your child has arthritis, it is recommended that you take your child to the doctor. The doctor will run some diagnostic tests and let you know quickly whether or not your child has the disease. A blood test usually can clearly determine whether or not your child has arthritis, and the type of arthritis (s)he has.

If your child has arthritis, (s)he will feel very different from other kids his/her own age. Try to encourage your child not to worry about that. There are ways for your child to cope though so that (s)he doesn’t feel completely out of place and different in school with his/her peers.

Here are a few things that your child could do for him/herself to help cope with the disease.

1.  Your Child Should Realize that (s)he is not alone

There are thousands of newly diagnosed cases of juvenile arthritis each year. Find out if there are any kids in your community who have been recently diagnosed and get together with them once or twice a month. It will help your child better cope with the disease if (s)he hears about others going through similar things to what (s)he is going through.

If your child has to miss class because (s)he is too achy to go to school, make sure that his/herteacher can help. Also, your child may want to find a few buddies who may be able to loan him/her their class notes when your child is sick at home.

2. Tell your Child to Tell his/her Teachers about the Diagnosis

Initially, some teachers may be a bit suspicious and unbelieving about your child’s diagnosis because most kids don’t have arthritis. For your child’s protection and consideration, ask his/her doctor to give him/her a note and diagnosis sheet that could be given to all of his/her teachers. In some schools, the guidance counsellor and school nurse may be able to help out as well.

3.  Encourage Your Child to Accept His/Her Disabilities

Accept your child’s limitations as much as possible. For one thing, there’s very little your child could do about actually getting the disease. However, you could do a lot to help your child cope with the disease and preventing further disabilities and discomfort. You’ll probably have to help your child learn how to do things very differently and to encourage him/her to develop caring friendships with people who accept your child.

Here are a few additional tips to help your child cope with his/her day-to-day activities:

First, if you child is stiff in the morning, you may have to wake up earlier, encourage him/her to leave home earlier so that s(he) could walk slower, and dress slower. All of these are necessary adjustments to not feel overstressed.

Second, your child may have to pace him/herself during the day so that fatigue doesn’t catch up with him/her later on. This may mean that your child will have to take a few breaks during the day to just sit and rest.

Third, don’t force your child to do things if (s)he is in pain or super tired. Encourage your child to take his/her time and to pace him/herself. And remember, help your child believe that it’s okay to be young and slow if (s)he has a debilitating illness such as arthritis.

Hopefully your child will now have the information needed not to feel overwhelmed about having juvenile arthritis. We all know that knowledge is power. So encourage your child to give him/herself a break and move past his/her diagnosis the best that (s)he can.
   

Irene S. Roth, Freelance Writer

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