This is a book which will be of considerable value to all those who work with ill or disabled clients that have children, and those who work directly with children who have ill or disabled parents. In addition it will certainly be of significance to those families that are facing the everyday problems of coping with an ill or disabled parent. The text is very accessible and consists of fifteen chapters divided neatly into two parts. The strength of Julia Segal's and John Simkins' book lies in the open way that they explore the difficult negative emotions that many professionals, parents, and children often find difficult to confront. It will certainly be of great value to all those interested in helping young children and their families facing the problems of coping with ill or disabled parents.Journal of the Association of Workers for Children with Emotional and Behavioural DifficultiesIncorporating a wealth of first hand experience, this book sets out what happens to children when their parents are too ill or disabled to parent in the imperfect, guilt ridden way of other parents. Physical as well as mental illness is encompassed in this book...
Part One Issues and views: how parents see it; some children; Martin - working with loss and change; how children see it; who am I?; dependence, separation and independence; housework; aggression and control. Part Two Offering help: who can help?; what can parents do?; helping and being helped by other people; help with thoughts and feelings; how can adults talk to children?; what should adults tell children?; the death of a parent.
eminently practical although I usually view with cynicism books which attempt to offer simultaneous guides for parents and professionals, ...on this occasion I compliment the authors on this successful integration. Perhaps its success is due to the primary focus on the needs of the children. Literature of this nature is sadly lacking and it is reassuring to find a book which focuses so clearly on the emotional needs of children. The introduction is clear and well rationalised. Key points are identified within the resum of the chapters which certainly stimulates further reading. The book is written in easy to understand language and offers anecdotes and case studies which brings the work to life. [It] manages to make complex ideas readily understandable withot being too simplistic or patronising to the reader. I found this book helpful and encouraging, in both a personal and professional way. Personally it helped me to work through my past experiences of being an ill mother, I am sure the book could help other parents in a similar way. As a professional, I found it useful that the authors had acknowledged that there are a wide variety of `helper' roles within these situations and the advantages and disadvantages of each are clearly discussed. The book offers alternative approaches to helping children which includes the use of symbolism, art and play therapy. This book would enable any health care professional to work effectively with children in this complex area. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to review this book and make reference to it constantly within my counselling practice. I have no hesitation in highly recommending it to anyone involved in helping children with ill or disabled parents.'
