Family Life

Day-to-day life can be more challenging when your child has feeding difficulties. Please know that you are not alone and there are many resources, supports and ideas to help you and your family. The following are some resources on the following topics:

Talking with people involved in your child’s life and care can feel stressful. The following are some suggestions for how you may want to engage them:

Journaling or Creating a Binder

Jot down your thoughts and come up with a reference list of your own commonly asked questions, your child’s diagnosis, medical emergency information and contact information. You could create a custom reference guide such as a binder to give out to friends, family, caregivers and school workers that assist your child. You can create these in fun bright paper colours and use highlighters, stickers, emojis and maybe include a photo or two.

Additional resources:

  • Family Health Journal | Alberta Children's Hospital
    The Family Health Journal was developed to help families and youth keep track of important health information and prepare for appointments. Included are forms to record medical history, surgeries, clinic visits, important phone numbers, treatments, medications, resources, etc. You are encouraged to use this journal as a way to share information and communicate with members of your child’s healthcare team.
     
  • Keeping It Together | CanChild KIT
    KIT is     a tool to organize information for your child and to assist you when interacting with different services, for example health, education, and recreation.

Create a comfortable atmosphere

Try to set a time and place to talk to friends and family in an atmosphere where you can all feel comfortable. Maybe it’s a nearby café, wellness facility, or at home over a cup of tea.  Some people find it easier to talk when they are doing activities like playing a board game or doing chores.

Family Care Map

A Care Map is simply a drawing, a visual representation of a family’s care network.

  • Everyone can create their own care map. It is not specific to caregivers and families of complex children.
  • A care map can include people, pets, professionals and places and their relationships of care.
  • A care map can give families new insights about their own personal situation, their relationships and can support the development of new skills and comfort in speaking with others about care.

Read More

Tools & Templates

There are also a number of tools and templates that you can help you to talk about your family's goals and to come up with a collaborative Feeding Care Plan when involving others in the care of your child.

Additional Resources for families with tube fed children

You could also share the following resources with family and caregivers:

Tip: Train multiple people at the school and daycare to feed your child, just in case the regular person is absent or has an emergency.