Help !!!!! This one has me concerned. I recently took my class to see the Nashville Children's Theater Production of Beauty and the Beast. It was beautiful. However, how they showed the beast dying was to put him on a bed of pure white with a mask of pure white. One of my students whom I've talked about frequently just recently almost lost his father to a serious illness. His mother was one of the chaperones on the trip. He apparently internalized this part of the production much more than anyone realized and had a horrific nightmare. He woke up screaming hysterically for his father who is on the mend now. He then told his mother that "the play lied" that a person who is dying turns red first then white referring to watching his father pass out on the family from his illness. The mother called me and asked for advice. I stated that it seems like David has internalized so much of what has happened that he might need to talk to someone. Fortunately, I have a parent who is a Child Psychologist and I gave them her number. I feel for this child and his family. The little boy admits to being a "worrier" (at age 5). As a teacher, is there anything more I can do to help reassure this child that his daddy is on the mend and will be okay ?

Malizma, as far as the play goes, have you explained that a stage play is make-believe, just like cartoons or movies are. They may seem to be real, but they are just pretend.
Here are a couple other thoughts you might pass on to the family of this boy, if they make sense.
On dad's next visit to the doctor, they could possibly take the boy along. We are most afraid of what we do not understand, kids and grown-ups alike. Perhaps if the doctor who treats his father could take a little time with the boy and his family to explain, in simple terms, what made his dad sick, and how they are treating it, it would help to reassure the child that dad is getting better.
A second idea may be to have the boy help with his dad's treatment. If dad needs to take medication at a certain time, he could remind his dad. If dad is supposed to rest at a certain time, the boy could help make him comfortable. The trick with all this, however, is to do it in such a way that the child does not feel responsible if dad were to have a relapse, or take longer to recover than expected. This child seems to worry more than he should already.
Good luck, I hope all goes well.

Great ideas, thanks. We all pray there will be no more relapses. He had strepicoccal pnuemonia. A very vigilant virus. I think the going to the doctor idea is a great one. I will certainly mention it to them tomorrow. He's been through a lot this year and is a very sweet little boy. He was diagnosed with dyslexia, his dad got sick and mom had a biopsy (all in the last 6 months). This is a lot for an adult to take, much less a 5 year old. I have learned a great deal this year from him and from the rest of my class. Thanks for the input. It helped to talk about it.

Follow up for anyone interested: Little David saw one of my other kid's mom today who is a Child Psychiatrist (I had her title wrong in the above mentioned post) along with his mom and dad. He poured his heart out and talked very freely about his fears. In the end, the doctor liked the idea of David going to his Dad's next appointment and helping with the breathing treatments. She also suggested some sort of ritual that only David and his father do that helps in the separationprocess such as a charm or necklace where each has half of something until they are together. The little boy reported back that he felt better talking about it and the family was very grateful for the help. He will continue counseling for a while. Amazing family, amazing kid.

[ 11-19-2001: Message edited by: malizma ]