When your child has been injured, it can be challenging for them and you. Injuries are not uncommon; in 2017, just about 20% of the 144.8 million visits to the ER were due to an injury. If they have been in the hospital, they had staff helping them, and now, at home, they have to be more independent. It can be challenging to adjust to routines after injuries. Your child may need a reasonable amount of time, support, and understanding. Here are some tips to consider for helping your child through their recovery period.
Routines
You want to get back to regular everyday routines as soon as you can. While there may need to be some adjustments depending on the injuries, you want to help your child resume regular routines. This includes getting enough sleep, eating a regular and healthy diet, and resuming school work. Your child may have missed a significant amount of school work, and they should begin to work on it. In addition, if there are any other activities your child was involved in, they should resume those as much as possible based on what their injuries will allow.
Talk About Their Feelings
You must give your child space to talk about their feelings, including what is worrying them. They may be scared after their injuries. They may not want to resume the activity they were doing when they were injured. You must understand that they may not be able to explain what they are feeling, especially if they are young. You can encourage them to write a story or draw a picture to help describe their feelings.
The injured child is not the only one that may have big feelings right now. If you have other children, remember they may be scared or worried during this time. They need room to talk about their feelings, too. This is not the time to ignore your feelings. You may also be worried, but you have to work through those feelings.
Allow Flexibility But With Limits
You may want to make this time easier for your child and relax rules and expectations. You may think that you need to compensate for what your child is experiencing as a result of their injuries. However, it is best that you set limits on behavior that are in alignment with your family rules. You do not want to teach your child that just because this is a difficult time it is okay to change behaviors and rules. While some expectations may need to be a little more flexible because of limitations as a result of the injury, you should not completely relax everything. Depending on the injury, there may need to be a temporary reduction in chores. You can expect an injury like a bone fracture to heal anywhere between two and 10 weeks.
Encourage your child to spend time with friends and family because they need support. This can help your child get over the feeling of being different, especially after a severe injury. In addition, they may need a slow introduction back into social situations.
Independence
While you may feel compelled to help your child do everything, you should encourage independence as appropriate for their age. You want your child to do all of the things they used to do before the injury. They may have to figure out new ways to do the things they used to. You want to empower your child instead of doing everything.
Injuries can be difficult for everyone in the family. But, if you follow these steps, you can help your child recover and get back to doing all the things they used to. You can also help yourself, and other family members adjust to life after an injury.
