5 Techniques to Maintaining Healthy Relationships with Siblings During Treatment.

A few months ago we shared a few ways to ensure support of the siblings of pediatric cancer patients. Today, we want to share ways to maintain relationships with siblings during treatment.

There are numerous of things you will have to juggle following a cancer diagnosis-it can be profoundly overwhelming. It is common for us to fall into taking it out on the ones who love us most. When you are a child it can be even more difficult to cope in a healthy manner and can affect their siblings.

 Here are a few tips to maintaining a healthy relationship with siblings during treatment:

1. Getting Along. Being a care giver can cause opportunities for arguments-whether it is about scheduling or what you think is best. Make sure to discuss, plan and enact in what you and your family have decided see fit.
2.  Hold Family Meetings. By designating a set time and place where you and your family will discuss everyone’s schedule will help eliminate miscommunications. Additionally by including siblings will ensure that they don’t feel left in the dark, that their schedules, extra circulars are still important regardless of this new chaos.
3. Healthy Communication. Make sure to engage in productive conversations and decisions. It can be easy to argue over simple things and create unnecessary tension between family members.
4. Embrace Flexibility. Cancer is an extremely unpredictable thing. Make sure you have discussed with your family that flexibility is key to getting through this chaotic time
5. Dedicate time to each sibling. By making an effort to dedicate time to each sibling will eliminate sibling’s “lost in translation” feeling. As you know, treatment can dictate so many aspects of your life-particularly your schedule. This can make siblings feel less important [regardless of reality]. Whether it is taking 15 min to sit and engage in their favorite activity or spending a day of their choosing-will help maintain a healthy relationship!