Thrive With Your Family: Supporting Kids With Chronic Diseases During COVID-19

How to help children with chronic medical conditions manage their daily care, and tips for when they refuse to wear a mask.

3:26 PM

Author | Rachel Zeichman

A nationally recognized panel of Michigan Medicine specialists tackle stressors, concerns and difficulties families face in the ever-changing environment of the current global pandemic. With candid conversations on parenting, the group addresses child behavior, mental health and relationships. Find all the episodes here.

MORE FROM MICHIGAN: Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Having a chronic disease is stressful enough, but living through a pandemic makes it all the more challenging. Without school or daycare, the security and structure usually in place to help children with chronic diseases manage tasks and daily medical care are temporarily gone. How can parents best support their children when these unexpected changes occur?

In the fifth episode of Thrive With Your Family, hosts Jenny Radesky, M.D., and Melissa Cousino, Ph.D., along with guest panelists, Nasuh Malas, M.D., MPH and Dana Albright, Ph.D., discuss these questions, and more:

- There's so much uncertainty in the world today and my child with chronic illness does not do well with such unexpected changes. How do I create a sense of safety and structure in such an uncertain world? (8:47)

- Are there any concrete practical tasks children get a nice sense of control out of? (14:09)

- Without the structure of school, daily health behaviors have become increasingly challenging. How can I help my child complete all their necessary medical care? (20:47)

- My child has a heart condition and developmental delays. I know he needs to wear a mask but he refuses. What guidance can you provide around mask wearing? (33:07)

Editor's note: Information on the COVID-19 crisis is constantly changing. For the latest numbers and updates, keep checking the CDC's website. For the most up-to-date information from Michigan Medicine, visit the hospital's Coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage

Interested in a COVID-19 clinical trial? Health research is critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Our researchers are hard at work to find vaccines and other ways to potentially prevent and treat the disease and need your help. Sign up to be considered for a clinical trial at Michigan Medicine.

Like Podcasts? Add the Michigan Medicine News Break to your Alexa-enabled device or subscribe for daily updates on iTunesGoogle Play and Stitcher.


More Articles About: Children's Health Community Health Mental Health Allergy and Immunology Congenital Heart Disease Diabetes Digestive (GI) Conditions CS Mott Children's Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Cardiovascular: Diseases & Conditions
Health Lab word mark overlaying blue cells
Health Lab

Explore a variety of health care news & stories by visiting the Health Lab home page for more articles.

Media Contact Public Relations

Department of Communication at Michigan Medicine

[email protected]

734-764-2220

Stay Informed

Want top health & research news weekly? Sign up for Health Lab’s newsletters today!

Subscribe
Featured News & Stories Breaking Down Mental Health
Breaking Down Mental Health
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Define ADHD criteria, explore its varied presentations like hyperfocus and agitation, and apply psychopharmacology principles for effective management.
family photo mom dad and four kids in soft white beige and black clothes outside in field with trees behind
Health Lab
After life threatening pregnancy complication, mom of 4 embraces little moments
A rare pregnancy complication, known as placenta accreta, put both a mom and her baby at risk.
Illustration of person swinging from a tree on a swing made of DNA. A version of the same person is sitting at the base of the tree with their head down.
Medicine at Michigan
Searching for the biology of mental illness
For half a century, Michigan Medicine researchers have been working to understand why we feel the way we feel. Their findings have offered hope to patients with mental health conditions from anxiety and depression to addiction and bipolar disorder.
woman looking at orange empty pill bottles with daughter on couch
Health Lab
Medicaid unwinding disrupted young people’s access to chronic disease medicines
Children and young adults living in the states with the highest Medicaid enrollment drops during the “unwinding” process were more likely to have disruptions in mental health, asthma and epilepsy medication.
Smiling black and white photo of Phil Jenkins seated at his desk. He is dressed up in a button-up shirt and tie.
Philanthropy News
$3M Jenkins Foundation Gift Ensures Future of Depression Outreach Programs
Jenkins Foundation makes $3 million gift to the Kenneth and Frances Eisenberg and Family Depression Center to sustain outreach and community education programs.
up close doctor in hospital with cardiology close up scans on monitors
Health Lab
Researchers find significant differences in care of life threatening shock after heart attack
A study finds most hospitals don’t see many cardiogenic shock patients. When they do, providers often do not have a standardized way of treating them.