How To Talk To Kids About Breast Cancer

Talking to your kids about breast cancer can be a very difficult thing to do. If you are trying to explain the concept of breast cancer to young children, so they can better understand breast cancer awareness month, it can be especially hard. Even if you don’t think your children are old enough to truly comprehend what the word cancer means, it is important to try to find a way to explain things like this to them. Chances are, they will notice everyone wearing pink in October and might start to question why you are attending fundraisers and doing things related to breast cancer. Here are some tips for talking with your kids about such an important subject.

Tip #1: Use Words They Understand

Don’t get too technical on them. Depending on the age of your child, you might not be able to fully explain cancer to them in words that they can understand. For younger children, sometimes a simple “some people get boo-boo’s inside their chests, and doctors have to take the bad parts out”, might suffice. For an older child, you can get a bit more in detail, but try not to give too many details. Let’s face it, cancer can be a scary thing for adults to understand, much less kids! Try to explain it in the simplest terms you can. Then, if they have additional questions, you can always elaborate.Let them be the one to determine if you need to take the conversation further or not.

Tip #2: Make It Matter-Of-Fact

Whether you are discussing your own diagnosis, the diagnosis of a family member or friend, or just discussing breast cancer in general, try the matter of fact approach. Kids (and adults!) often freak out when forced into a “sit down, we need to talk”, sort of situation. Try to broach the subject when you are already doing something, such as a craft project, playing outside, or driving to a soccer game. By not making the situation overly emotional, kids will be able to process the information better. Of course, anticipate some tension, anxiety or stress with older kids as you approach a sensitive subject that they are likely to have feelings about already.

Tip #3: Stress The Positives

In no way should you make your children frightened about a breast cancer diagnosis, or breast cancer in general. Make sure you stress the positives, like all of the great treatment options available for breast cancer, all of the great support groups and fundraising opportunities, and the fact that breast cancer survivors are some of the strongest women on the planet! Make sure that your child does not assume that cancer is contagious. Also stress that cancer is not a reason to treat anyone differently than they usually would. Make sure your children know that they will not get cancer just because someone that they care about has cancer, or because they are near someone with cancer.

Tip #4: Leave The Conversation Open Ended

Make sure that your child knows that even after the conversation is over, that the lines of communication are still open. Often, after talking about such a serious and sensitive topic, children will continue to think it over and try to process it on their own. They will often come up with additional questions and concerns after the initial topic has been brought up. Make sure that your child knows that they can come to you with those concerns, even long after the conversation is over. Making sure your child knows that you are there for them to answer their questions and listen to their concerns is one of the most important parts of parenting, cancer talks or not!