|
Raising children may well be life's greatest challenge. It is certainly one of the most rewarding. If you're a parent with vision loss, there's no question that vision loss brings an entirely new set of challenges.
Or perhaps you're a grandparent who is experiencing vision loss late in life. As such, you may not be responsible for the day-to-day demands of child rearing, although a good many grandparents are playing the role of primary parent these days. But even if mom and dad are on the case, there's still plenty of teaching, entertaining, and spoiling to be done—and somebody's got to do it!
Don't let vision loss stop you! Indeed, there is no reason why declining vision should prevent you from enjoying your children or grandchildren.
Making Adjustments
Of course, there are definitely some adjustments that both the child and the adult with vision loss will have to make:
- Talk about it. Being open about discussing the fact that you don't see as well as you once did opens the door for kids to ask questions. This helps satisfy their natural curiosity while helping them understand your vision and how it affects how you see the world.
- Describe what you can see. It helps kids understand when you can paint a vivid picture for them with descriptions like, "I can tell your shirt has some writing on it, but I can't read it from this distance," or, "I can tell that you are smiling, but I can't see the gap where you lost your tooth."
- Once the children's curiosity is satisfied, move on. Actually you won't have to dwell on your vision loss for long. After their initial questions have been answered, most children will be content with grandpa just being grandpa—the old guy who likes to play checkers with them and tell funny, embarrassing stories about dad when he was young.
- Try not to "lean" on the kids. It's natural for your young children or grandchildren to want to help you, especially when you're traveling with them. It's important, however that they don't feel obligated to do so. Equally important, it would set back your sense of independence should you grow too dependent on them. Find ways to reinforce a respectful, interdependent adult-child relationship. In a grocery store, for example, where there are many different products, a child might "help" by reading labels and prices. In return, you can help teach the child about price comparisons, nutrition, and other shopping skills.
And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun: Activities You Can Share With Kids
- Table Games. These can include both board games (Monopoly, Scrabble, dominos, chess) and card games (Go Fish, Concentration, and I Declare War for younger kids; Uno, Canasta, Wist, Pinochle, Cribbage, Bridge, and many others for older children). Many games and playing cards have been modified for persons with vision loss. See the Game Night article for more information.
- Reading. Enjoying books together can be very entertaining and satisfying for both child and adult. If you have some vision, some large print books are available. For those who know braille, there are books with both braille and print so that a print reader and a braille reader can enjoy the book together. These are available from Seedlings Braille Books for Children or Twin Vision® Books and the Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children.
- Homework. If you enjoy reading with your children or grandchildren, then helping them with their homework is the next logical step. Again, large print, braille, and magnifiers can help you read and understand their assignments so you can help. Although, when it comes to figuring out how long it takes for the blue train and the red train to meet if one's going 50 mph and the other is moving at 40 mph, well, we don't remember how that works, either. You're on your own.
- Storytelling. A wonderful way of sharing experiences and awakening imaginations.
Off the Couch and on the Court: Sports and Exercise
A wide array of fun and competitive outlets are possible for you and the children in your care. For very young children, tossing a brightly colored balloon around can be fun, physically challenging, and soft on people and breakable objects in the house. Balls with bells attached give good audible indication of where they're headed during a game of catch. Try shooting baskets with a brightly colored basketball and a contrasting rim and backboard for competitive fun. Swimming, water or snow skiing, horseback riding, walking, jogging, hiking, and tandem bike riding are all fun activities that can be shared safely. Accompanying children to sporting events and other family outings enriches their experience and creates lasting memories for everyone.
For more information about the many sports activities, see the section on Leading an Active Lifestyle.
"Don't Make Me Come Up There… ": Children and Discipline
Disciplining children while reinforcing desired behavior is an important part of caring for kids. Children naturally test the limits of the authority figure, and a person with vision loss can expect to be "tested" just as someone with full vision would be.
The telltale signs are largely the same. Is the home "too quiet?" Do you hear suppressed giggles or whispering? Maybe there's the sound of crinkling of cellophane, as though an unapproved raiding of the Fig Newtons were taking place? Then it's probably a good time to check what's going on and call the kids on their behavior. Once the child learns that their actions can be deduced even if the person doing the deducing doesn't see very well, then they'll learn to stop trying to "pull the wool over your eyes."
Accidents Can Happen
Identifying and responding to accidents or illness is a concern of any parent or guardian. Most of us are used to visually inspecting a cut, burn, rash, or skin pallor to determine the extent of the condition. Fortunately, there are effective non-visual alternatives:
- Touching your child's brow or chest can determine if there is a fever. Audible thermometers are available for more exact temperature readings.
- Listening to breathing or placing your ear on your child's chest can tell you if he or she is congested. Wheezing and short breaths are trouble signs. Still other illnesses will change the odor of the child's breath.
- An important clue to health status is your child's behavior. If he or she is unusually cranky, listless, hyper, or irritable, you might guess that something is not "right."
- Labeling medications with large print or braille markings can ensure that you administer the proper medication at the proper times to your child. Keep at hand spoons commonly used in the kitchen or measuring cups and tubes that come with liquid medications to help with accurate dosages. See the Medication Management article for more information on labeling medications.
If symptoms grow worse or if you have doubts about what course to take, contact your child's pediatrician.
|
