Family involvement

This fact sheet is part of a section about childhood cancer. To access the rest of the content in this section, see Childhood cancer.

Research shows that when families are encouraged to maintain their caring role as much as possible, children's anxieties are lessened and the pain they experience is reduced. Families can expect to be as involved in their child's care as they wish to be.

Anxiety and fear can make pain feel worse. They can often be minimised with explanations of what is going to happen and by suggesting small actions that your child can choose to do, such as:

• how to get onto a treatment bed
• which finger for a skin prick
• how to travel to the operating theatre

Although children may display or verbalise more distress in the presence of their parents / caregivers, there is evidence that your presence is a helpful contribution to pain management. Also, because you can often accurately judge your child's pain, your involvement in care can promote the early recognition of pain and its accurate assessment.

There are some hints for you to use when you are involved in procedures that may be painful for your child in:

• Your child in hospital: Techniques to help with treatments

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