In following up with families, you, the leader, can also find children with differences in the way their bodies function. They may not see, hear, speak, or be able to move, for example. You can also find children who have some serious diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, among others.
First, they are children with the same needs that every child has: love, communication, playing, and learning. So, it is the people who care for them who need to find different ways to respond to the needs of these children.
You, the leader, can help find people in the community who can guide families and, if necessary, even provide specialized care. The sooner this is done, the better it will be for that child. But the best care does not replace the love and welcome of the family.
When a family receives a child with some function of their body compromised, they should not focus exclusively on what the child cannot do but look at what they can do. For example, the child may not be able to speak but can communicate through gestures. In this case, the important thing is to meet the child's need for communication.
Likewise, a child who is bedridden due to a serious illness may have his play needs met if people play with them in bed.
Parents and family members should take advantage of household routines to create ways to include the child in these activities: bath time, diaper change, feeding, and washing. Considering the characteristics that the child presents, they should act with them and not in their place.
But that by itself is not enough. The family needs to have a true commitment to living with the child. In addition to domestic routines, it is also necessary to include them in all the family's social activities, for example, shopping trips, going to church, dances, and parties. In these programs, it is necessary to encourage the child to participate, but mainly to encourage other people to always invite the child to participate in the activities, making them feel challenged, do things their own way, and feel integrated into the group. When you, the leader, encourage this, you are collaborating so that this child is not excluded.
It is the mission of everyone who works at the Pastoral Care for Children to value families so that they recognize their competence to care for and educate their children. It is necessary, above all, to try to understand each family, valuing their practices, expanding their knowledge about the care and education of their children, and trying to support them when they need it. This is a tangible manifestation of love!
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- Children with different body functioning