#006: Breaking bad news to kids!

Reading time: 5 min

Hey 👋 - Hello, how have you been?

Where I live currently, the temperature is rising again?

So, we are enjoying as many mangoes as we can.. before summer disappears.

Recently my uncle got diagnosed with cancer and Adi has been hearing this conversation all day.

Though it stressed me in the beginning and I wasn't comfortable sharing the news with him.

I realized that it was easier when I shared everything with him. He was curious about it, and he wanted to know about the treatment, etc.

Children spend a lot of time with their families and they would want to know what's happening around them.

Adi had a lot of questions about the treatment and it was easier for me to share than to hide everything from him.

So, I was honest about my uncle's diagnosis and shared with him about the disease, how the treatment will happen, and how much time it might take him to recover.

He understands now and he can make sense of the conversations happening at home.

Here are a few things that we need to keep in mind when we share something like that with kids:

• Be honest with your kid- It is important, to be honest with kids, but you don't need to go into too much detail.

• Stick to facts- When sharing uncompromising news with kids, it is important to stick to the facts.

• Age-appropriate language - When sharing tough news with kids, it is important to use language that they will understand.

• Be prepared for questions - Kids will likely have many questions when you share tough news with them. Be prepared to answer these questions as best you can.

• Allow for processing - After sharing tough news with kids, it is important to allow them time to process the information.

Read the blog related to this topic to know more (link in the end)

In our nature walk this week, we decided to find the names of the plants in our garden and do some research together.

• We took our phone to the garden

• Opened Google lens on our phone

• Scanned some plants

• We came back and did little research

• That's all, a little activity to know the plants around you.

Here are the list of plants and the information we found:

1. Snake Plant

2. Kalanchoe pinnata also called the miracle plant- It is widely distributed in the Philippines and is known as katakataka or kataka-taka that means astonishing or remarkable.

It is a medicinal plant that has antibacterial, and antiseptic properties. They are also used as a counter-irritant against poisonous insect bites.

It is very easy to grow this plant, you can just put the leaf in the soil and it grows.

We are trying this experiment, if it works we will let you know more about it.

3.Papaya Tree- Papaya plant is very easy to grow

Here are the steps if you want to give it a try

• Plant papaya seeds in the ground outdoors or in an indoor pot if you live in a cold climate.

• Use a potting mix made for tropical plants or a mixture of garden soil and compost. After you plant the seeds.

• Water the soil regularly.

Our papaya tree has some little fruits hanging already, do plant a seed in your backyard or in your pot to give it a try.

"Waking up Early"

Adi and I always aim to wake up early but we are not consistent.

The joy of seeing the early sun is amazing though.

We tried waking up early this week and that was only possible on the days we hit the bed early. Isn't that obvious.

We have this habit of pushing our more important tasks to the end of the day. But are trying to wrap up early and go to bed on time this week.

I always discuss these things with Adi, so that it's easy for both of us to plan our schedules.

We have started going to bed on time by 10. 30 pm maximum and waking up by 6.30 am. We missed this schedule couple of days this week.

But we are planning to be more consistent in the coming week.

Couple of things we are doing together:

• We write our reflection on the day

• We change plans when we see things that are not working as planned

• We make a plan for the next day

Watch some fun videos:

Recent Ideas and Posts

How to share Difficult news with your kids?