Doll Helps Kids Cope With Mother's Breast Cancer

While trying to search for an article that documented the benifits of children reading books about cancer, I came across this article on ABC News's website. It was a story about a woman named Kim who had breast cancer and she created this idea called "Kimme Cares" and it comes with a book called "Mommy and Me...Taking Care of Each Other", as well as a doll that can lose its hair. Designed to help children understand what their mommy is going through, the doll is a way to understand and cope with their mom being sick. The article also discusses the type of effect a physical change in a parent can have on a child. Lillie Shockney, a nurse and director of the Breast Center at the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center, stated that, "The most noticeable change in a woman's appearance is hair loss...In our society, hair loss often symbolizes having cancer"(Gammon). The change in mom's hair can be very frightening and confusing to children, and by being able to demonstrate the process on a doll can make the whole situation less scary and more understanding. The article also discusses the importance of stressing the fact that they cannot catch cancer and that their hair will not fall out too. "It's really important that kids understand that it's not going to happen to them...It's also important for kids to know that the hair loss is temporary." The final idea the article stresses is that it is a bad idea to try and hide the cancer from the children. Kids are very perseptive and are able to pick up on things we may not think they understand. "The situation is an opportunity to teach kids how to handle a crisis...Having a doll is a good idea because it's a safety zone for kids."


Doll Helps Kids Cope with Mother's Breast Cancer. by: Katharine Stoel Gammon
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCallPlusLiving/Story?id=3738082&page=1