How to talk to kids about serious illness

One of the reasons the Princess of Wales delayed sharing the news about her cancer diagnosis was in order to have enough time to tell her three young children about it in an appropriate and reassuring way. — TNS

When the United Kingdom’s Princess of Wales – popularly known by her maiden name Kate Middleton – announced her recent cancer diagnosis, she emphasised the time she and her husband, William, Prince of Wales, took to share the news with their three children.

Talking to pre-adolescent children about serious illnesses is the right course of action for any family because children can sense change, said Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Cancer and Blood Institute paediatric psychologist Dr Kathleen Ingman in the United States.