{"id":15115,"date":"2024-02-07T09:22:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T09:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/?page_id=15115"},"modified":"2025-02-25T17:01:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T17:01:42","slug":"how-to-talk-about-dementia-with-children-and-adolescents","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/resources\/supporting-children-and-adolescents\/how-to-talk-about-dementia-with-children-and-adolescents\/","title":{"rendered":"How to talk about dementia with children and adolescents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you are a carer for someone with dementia, your child may be worried about you, or it may be affecting family relationships. Caring for someone with dementia can lead to significant anxiety, stress and feelings of loss or grief. Children may feel they have done something wrong if you have less time or emotional energy for them. Helping children understand the impact of caring and providing the opportunity to talk can help them realise it is not their fault.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Things that can help include:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Explain what dementia is as this will make the child less afraid<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It is difficult to explain to younger children about the symptoms of dementia. This short animation (below) was developed as a resource for children between the ages of 8 to 12 years old.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Let&#039;s Talk About Dementia - with subtitles\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/lJdLf7gQWJs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Encourage the child to express their feelings<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Children need to have their feelings validated and not feel judged, so it is important that they know it is okay to express their feelings. Otherwise, they may begin to keep how they are feeling a secret, which can lead to further problems.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Children use different methods of communication<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Children may express their thoughts and emotions through different methods of communication. Talking and art therapy sessions could be a good approach to help them communicate. By talking to an independent person, like a therapist, the child can take the time to explore and express their thoughts without thinking they are upsetting a family member, and without feeling like they are being pushed to give an answer.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Get peers to join in to encourage inclusion<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If a child feels they are the only person going through something, like dementia, they may feel isolated and alone. Speak to their teacher or the leader of any sports or activity clubs they attend to see if they can do a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/get-involved\/do-your-own-fundraising\/fundraising-ideas\/fundraising-with-children\/\">fun fundraiser<\/a> for dementia. This will may help ease any feelings of isolation and other children may then say, \u201cMy grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle, or family friend has dementia too\u201d; and these children might then bond when talking about a shared experience of dementia.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Children need an outlet<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Children should be encouraged to take part in a group activity or club that does not cross over with their home life, so they can have fun with other children without feeling guilty. It is important the child does not feel like their childhood is being taken away from them.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Create memories<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If it is still possible, arrange activities with the child and the person with dementia so the child can create memories that they can cherish of their time spent with their loved one. Take pictures of them together and having fun, so the child has something to look at to remember happy times.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Children need to know they are being heard and listened to<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>However far progressed and time-consuming the person\u2019s dementia is, it is important to take the time out with the child so they know they have your time and love. If possible, arrange for a family member or friend to come and look after the person with dementia, so you can take the child out for \u2018you and them\u2019 time.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Inform people about what the child is going through<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Speak to the child\u2019s school and the leaders of activity groups that they participate in, so allowances can be made and support provided if needed. If people are aware of the child\u2019s situation, they can better understand if the child is behaving out of character and respond in a supportive way.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What if your child has become a carer for someone with dementia?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>A child may be a carer for someone with dementia; this may be a grandparent, parent or other family member or friend. It can be especially difficult if the child&#8217;s parent has young onset dementia, as the family may be facing employment, financial and childcare issues, which will place significant pressure on the remaining parent or the child themselves, especially if in a single parent family.<\/p>\n<p>Being a young carer can have a significant impact on a young person\u2019s health, social life and self-confidence. Many young carers struggle to juggle their education and caring, which can cause pressure and stress. They may start missing school and can be bullied.<\/p>\n<p>The following organisations provide information about the needs of young carers and information about local groups and support networks:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carers.org\/about-caring\/about-young-adult-carers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Carers Trust<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youngminds.org.uk\/young-person\/coping-with-life\/young-carers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Young Minds<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Children and adolescents may need extra support if someone in their family has dementia. This is especially true if it is a parent. In this short film (below), Admiral Nurse Rachel talks about helping young people understand the changes their relationship might go through, as well as how you can provide emotional support.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dementia affects the whole family: Admiral Nurse Rachel\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/332409028?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are a carer for someone with dementia, your child may be worried about you, or it may be affecting family relationships. Caring for someone with dementia can lead to significant anxiety, stress and feelings of loss or grief. Children may feel they have done something wrong if you have less time or emotional [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":14832,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15115","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to talk about dementia with children and adolescents - Dementia UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to talk to children about dementia and support them through difficult emotions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/resources\/supporting-children-and-adolescents\/how-to-talk-about-dementia-with-children-and-adolescents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to talk about dementia with children and adolescents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dementia has an impact on the whole family, including children. 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