Contents:
- Medical Video: HIV / AIDS and Pregnancy - What You Need To Know
- Prepare yourself
- Get to know your child
- Plan when and how to tell
- Help them understand about HIV
- Don't ask children to keep it as a secret
Medical Video: HIV / AIDS and Pregnancy - What You Need To Know
When you are diagnosed with HIV, you can feel stress and difficulty telling others about your illness, especially in the child you care about most and that you don't want to hurt. If you have trouble informing your child, here are ways of communication that can help.
prepare yourself
It is important to make sure you can control your feelings before telling your child. Then, you need to find several sites or hotlines for children to learn so they can support you and protect themselves. However, when you talk to your child, prepare yourself for unimaginable situations that might happen to you. Your child may be surprised or afraid of contracting HIV from you. In this situation, you must remain calm and understand that your child is afraid of losing you. They need time to accept reality.
Get to know your child
You need to consider the right time to tell your child about your illness. Make sure they are mature enough to understand this condition. The age of the child has an impact on what they know and what is understandable. You must evaluate what your child knows about the disease before choosing the information you are about to tell.
Plan when and how to tell
Consider when and what to say to your child. You should not talk about illness to your child just because you feel you are brave enough. This can cause things to fall apart and be out of your control. This is why a plan to tell is needed. To avoid confusion, you need to set the words that you will convey. You can also note it to make it easier. Choose a time and place that is suitable and comfortable for both of you.
Help them understand about HIV
Although most children have heard of HIV, up to grade 3, about 93% of children have unclear knowledge about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Therefore, when you decide to tell your child about HIV, this is the right opportunity to discuss HIV. You can teach them how to avoid sexual solicitation and risky drugs to protect them in the future.
It's not a good idea to provide too much information about HIV. Getting too much information can make children confused and worried. You also need to tell the child that they will not get HIV when hugging a kiss, or being near you.
Don't ask children to keep it as a secret
Children are very good at keeping secrets. Once you decide to tell your child about your HIV status, you should not ask them to keep this as a secret because it will make your child stressed out and cause certain serious behavioral disorders.
Facts about your illness can cause various feelings for your child. However, the way you tell them is important to get them to understand and accept the facts about your HIV condition. If you are very worried about the consequences, ask your doctor to give you advice.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
