School reopens
The Division of Clinical Psychology’s Faculty for Children, Young People and their Families (CYPF) has published tips for talking to children about illness.
Children are not little adults, and their understanding depends on their developmental stage.
This leaflet is designed to help parents, carers and education providers to talk about ill health in a way that is developmentally suitable for them.
The advice broken down into four distinct age categories, ranging from the youngest children to teenagers, and also discusses the developmental characteristics that define each age group.
In addition it also covers what children may do or say in reaction to illness at each age, and offers tips on how to help them process their understanding of events.