Parenting with Chronic Pain
How does a parent’s chronic pain affect their children?
As I sat down to dinner with my five-year-old daughter, not long ago, she hit me with a terrific question.
She asked, “Dad, why are you blinking so hard?”
“I’m still hurting,” I said.
It doesn’t get much more observant than a smart kindergartener.
The majority of that day I was in considerable physical pain. From my feet to my knees to my lower back, I could barely stand longer than about 15-minutes. This has been a theme of my life for almost 10-years.
I often describe situations like this as being the source of new pain. And, since my daughter will only continue growing and learning and assimilating information into her worldview, there is no foreseeable end to such discussions and their consequences.
That could have been the end of the conversation. She could have chosen to accept my answer and continue whatever she was thinking about. But that’s not my kid. She pressed forward.
“When will I hurt like you?” she asked.
“I hope you never do.”
“But when will I?”
“You probably won’t, honey.”
