Re: being a regular kid vs. being different

[Guest guest]

On the whole regular kid vs. different kid idea. I think that as

tempting it is to tell your kid what he/she wants to hear, it backfires

as they get older. My parents often did, and it does not work.

Again, when you're a little kid it is so much easier, it gets hard when

you can't convince yourself any more. And as someone here said, what'

s so wrong with being different. I did not mean that parents should

push this difference on their kids. Encourage everything from

education, to sports, to dating etc. But there is that difference and

it should not be ignored. And that difference will be instinctive to

skip meds and therapy. That was my excuse as a kid.

Though I do not mean to simplify this, it is so hard to be a parent

period. I always say I rather be the kid than the parents.

So good job everybody. =)

[Guest guest]

One thing I tell is that " it could be worse " . You could be

stuck in the hospital, always connected to tubes etc... or you could

be in a wheelchair, or unable to think or communicate. When we went

to the Blue Angels with MAW, she really noticed the other kids that

were there and that she was actually thankful that she was not " as

bad as some of the kids that were there " .

Here is a scenario that can berealted to this : My friend's son was

acting like a spoiled brat. he thought that he was better than

everyone else. So she made him donate some of his toys to those kids

who had none. She made him go down to the shelters to show him that

he should be g rateful for what he has. How does this relate to CF?

Maybe showing your daughter the not so normal kids. the kids who are

worse off. But not in a " freak show " kind of way. Its more to the

effect of allowing her to show compassion to someone else where she

is usually the one who is receiving the compasssion. I know in my

child, it makes her feel good to help others who are not as

fortunate, be it financially or physically.

Ok, I have rambled long enough, and I have so much more to say, but

I need to get going....

e

[Guest guest]

Boy has your post ever hit home with me!Tyler told me about a year

ago, kinda out of the blue that he didnt want to have cf anymore, he

wanted to be just like everyone else.Just like you I was

flabbergasted.Hadn't I spent all kinds of time making him feel like

every one else?The real answer is that I was doing just that, and it

totally wasnt working for us.From that point on, with every

opportunity I reminded him that his cf made up a small portion of

who he was as a person.He also has brown hair, beautiful hazel eyes,

the cutest button nose you ever saw, and many other wonderful things

that make up the Tyler I love so much.I hope me telling this to him

lets him not concentrate on the cf, but all of the things together

that amkes him as special as he is.I also started making a point of

showing him how we all have health issues we deal with.Some people

are blind, some have bad hearts, some people just have smaller

health issues like hearing difficulties.I dont care how big or how

small, I made mention to him whenever I could how extremely rare it

is when someone is totally healthy.I dont think I know a single

person.This seems to help him feel he is not too different fromn all

the other people in the world who at one point or another have to

face some kind of health issue.So far it seems to work ok.By nature

I'm no good at sugar coating anything, this seems to be the only

fair logical way for me to handle one of those difficult questions

that theres no ez answer to. Hope you find what works best for

you.Best of luck...hang tough!

Patty, mom to Ty,8, wcf & 2wocf

> Hi all,

> Well I thought I would ask this since Natalia had mentioned it in

one of her posts. Yesterday, as and I were in the car she

told me that she doesn't want to be a " different kid " anymore. she

just wants to be a " regular kid with no tubie (g-tube) and no CF "

Well I was just about floored because we really treat her like a

regular kid and there has not been any problems at school that I am

aware of. I will be speaking to her teacher this afternoon or

tomorrow, to make sure that everything is OK in the classroom.

> Anyway she was near tears, saying that she just wanted to throw

her CF out in the trashcan and be a " regular " kid. We have

discussed people being different from each other many times and I

have pointed out that lots of people have things about them that are

different. I have terrible eyesight and can not see much without my

glasses. Her cousin can't eat many MANY things because of his

anaphylaxis plus he has asthma, and several of her classmates have

asthma. She has a friend with other health problems who has trouble

walking..........

> Well anyway I told her that she could get rid of the tubie if she

ate enough, but that it would be hard to eat as much as she needs

to. She replied that she hates to eat.

> What the heck do I say to these things? I know that she will

never be exactly like her friends at school, but none of us are

exactly alike! It seems like everyone has something different about

them, but no one else that she knows has CF.

> What do other parents say when this comes up?

>

>

> mom of 5 with CF and one on the way

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

Racheal's comments tug at my heart. I feel bad for her. It's hard

to be a kid and even harder to be a kid with CF. Sure, it could be

worse, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier for a child to

accept.

Gale

> Hi all,

> Well I thought I would ask this since Natalia had mentioned it in

one of her posts. Yesterday, as and I were in the car she

told me that she doesn't want to be a " different kid " anymore. she

just wants to be a " regular kid with no tubie (g-tube) and no CF "

Well I was just about floored because we really treat her like a

regular kid and there has not been any problems at school that I am

aware of. I will be speaking to her teacher this afternoon or

tomorrow, to make sure that everything is OK in the classroom.

> Anyway she was near tears, saying that she just wanted to throw

her CF out in the trashcan and be a " regular " kid. We have discussed

people being different from each other many times and I have pointed

out that lots of people have things about them that are different. I

have terrible eyesight and can not see much without my glasses. Her

cousin can't eat many MANY things because of his anaphylaxis plus he

has asthma, and several of her classmates have asthma. She has a

friend with other health problems who has trouble walking..........

> Well anyway I told her that she could get rid of the tubie if she

ate enough, but that it would be hard to eat as much as she needs

to. She replied that she hates to eat.

> What the heck do I say to these things? I know that she will never

be exactly like her friends at school, but none of us are exactly

alike! It seems like everyone has something different about them,

but no one else that she knows has CF.

> What do other parents say when this comes up?

>

>

> mom of 5 with CF and one on the way

>

>