Dementia is something that we may all be affected by at some point in our life. Whether we develop the condition or someone we know does it has become an undeniable and common part of society. Celebrities who were diagnosed include Robin Williams and Terry Pratchett while numerous films have been made reflecting the horrors of the condition. But how do you explain dementia to children?
Unfortunately, the people who are most likely to develop dementia are the elderly. You might have a parent, aunt or uncle in their seventies or eighties. These are the people most at risk of developing the condition, and it is a difficult thing to describe to a child. Ultimately, dementia will involve someone losing a part of themselves and slowly becoming somewhat unrecognisable to those around them.
How you explain the condition will, of course, depend on the age of your child. Older children will be able to understand the complex condition far more easily compared to little ones. However, this won’t make it any easier for them when they need to come to terms with it.
