For Kids Archives - Kids Cancer Resources

SuperSibs Sibling Support Program

Lexi Robertson — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 15:33:45 +0000

SuperSibs is a program with Alex’s Lemonade Stand that provides sibling support for brothers or sisters of kids with cancer. We specifically signed up for the Grief and Loss mailings after my son, Cayden, had already passed away. I found this and when I was looking online for help for my other children. So far, we have received positive notes, a magnet frame we can use on our fridge, a craft item and a really cool one where each boy had a book to fill out addressing their feelings as well as slime/putty. I am not aware of any other programs that send out items for sibling support after a loss. Cayden’s Care Packages is the only other one I know of that send items to siblings of kids with cancer.

These packages come out about every two months (3 months for grief mailings). I called about our packages because it took about 4-6 months for us to get our first one. We hadn’t gotten fully in the system. It was really easy to get someone on the phone and she reached out to whomever was needed and got us a package sent out. We are really appreciative of the care they show by thinking of our boys! I don’t know if they realize how special and unique this program is, but I do and it makes me happy too. A really cool part for the boys is just receiving a piece of mail with their name on it and getting to open it up. They look through everything with a smile.

Our family enjoys this program and yours might too! I would definitely recommend signing up or signing a friend up for this program. It lasts for two years!

Photo by cottonbro studio

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For Teens with Cancer – Free Kicks!

Lexi Robertson — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 05:54:00 +0000

Amazingly, there is an organization that provides shoes for teens who need encouragement. Chase the Victory is a non-profit organization created by a family out of love for their son Chase who started giving shoes to others while he fought cancer. Tragically, he is no longer with us so his family continues his legacy of delivering stylish sneakers and encouragement to others.

I’m talking name brand! My son loved his new pair of shoes. It really warmed my heart as well for him to receive this gift of love straight from Chase’s vision and heart, continued by his family. It was really inspiring as well to pass on the love as much as we can. It’s really hard to capture in words how meaningful this was to our family.

Chase the Victory is based in Georgia and they have done personal deliveries. I am not sure how far they deliver but it is worth finding out. They do even more than this for families that have lost a child but I will share more about that in another blog. A great organization to support for all of the support it gives others!

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Books about Childhood Cancer

Lexi Robertson — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 04:37:34 +0000

It’s hard not knowing how to help or explain things to children. One of the first things I asked for were books about childhood cancer to help my kids. I developed “My Coping Skills Coloring Book for Cancer Kids and Families” to share the feelings my family experienced and what we did about to feel better. This coloring book shares how kids may feel during a cancer journey. There are detailed pictures to color. It also shares different ways to cope with negative feelings and encourages creativity. It’s also available for free by clicking the link!

Here are a few other books about childhood cancer we were given from the hospital that help siblings understand more about cancer. They gave us a way to explain to our older boys why their baby brother was in the hospital. I really liked how I Have a Question About Cancer by Arlen Gaines answered questions about the body. It’s so helpful for curious minds because it describes the in and outs of the disease, including what happens to the cells. Hi, My Name is Jack by Christina Beall-Sullivan is a book about how you feel when your brother or sister is going through cancer. It especially takes a look at negative feelings. Jamie’s Journey by Sharon Wonzy is written more like a story, describing the cancer journey. Jamie is the sister of Jordan who has cancer and is sharing her thoughts. At the end, it has room to journal your own thoughts and feelings.

What’s one of your favorite books for childhood cancer? Let me know at lexi@cancerkidsresources.com

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Monthly Family Trips

Lexi Robertson — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 22:04:23 +0000

A Kid Again is a non-profit that has locations in all fifty states that provide fun, monthly family trips. Any family with a child affected by a life-threatening illness can apply. They are very responsive and excited to help your family make memories on the awesome “adventures”. Kentucky Kingdom, the Colts Fashion Show, and zoo tickets are just some of the family trips they provided Jamacia during her stay at a home away from home in Indianapolis. They have a monthly newsletter to keep you up to date with all the latest available adventures and special events. The staff is super friendly and helpful as well. The only downside is that if you live far away from the adventures, there is no assistance with hotels or transportation…yet! We heard that they are working on making it more accessible for everyone! Really, Jamacia couldn’t say enough about how wonderful they are and they definitely are one of our favorite resources! To find more resources, check out our social media!

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Joke Book by Kid Who Survived Cancer

Lexi Robertson — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 01:37:09 +0000

What can you do while sitting in the hospital or staying at home? A Joke book, of course! A joke book is something your child can choose whenever they want to get some amusement and laughs into their day. This joke book definitely sticks out because it is written with a child who himself is a cancer survivor! Bring on the tears! What joke book is this? I’m talking about 150 Jokes for Monstrously Funny Kids! As soon as someone shared me a link to this book, I bought it. I am so happy I did! It’s actually really funny and everyone in the struggle knows our kids can use some laughs. The fact that it’s from an eight year old who survived childhood cancer with his mom and brother is just inspirational to me. My boys enjoyed it as well. My own eight year old said it was very creative and my youngest liked that it was written with a kid like him. The kid drawn illustrations were also funny for them. It’s also a great idea to do a fun family project like this to pass the time in the hospital!

Looking for more ideas on how to pass the time? Check out how to get a free coloring book made just for kids with cancer made by Cancer Kids Resources!

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Coping Skills Coloring Book for Cancer Kids and Families

Lexi Robertson — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 19:16:32 +0000

inally, a resource that is relatable and interactive for kids to practice coping with childhood cancer! This coloring book was created specifically for children going through cancer treatments and their siblings. When our son went through cancer treatments, we couldn’t find many easily available, interactive resources that helped children deal with cancer. This coloring book gives kids tips on how to cope with negative emotions that often come with chronic sickness and frequent hospital stays. The illustrations were hand drawn by our 14 year old niece who wanted to use her passion of art to help and make a difference.

Cancer kids and siblings can color kids who look like them, whether they have a head full of hair or not. They are invited to write what they can do to feel better when they are sad or angry. This resource has been donated and well received by several hospitals such as John Hopkins and Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and cancer summer camps such as Camp Quality.

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Yoto Player for Hospital and Home

Lexi Robertson — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 17:33:39 +0000

his resource is seriously an incredible find for cancer kids and siblings ages 3-12. It is a radio that kids can use by themselves and has so much to offer. Music, audiobooks, podcasts, language learning, trivia, are just some of the features! You can easily pack this in a hospital bag for your child for something super entertaining besides watching television. Kids are even welcomed to participate by sharing their own jokes and getting birthday shout outs. It’s super neat for them to hear their own voice or name on the radio! In fact, all of the kids will enjoy this. Stream sweet stories before bed to help them wind down and chase fears away before sleeping. Or turn on the music radio when it’s time to wake up for school to reduce fussing and rolling over.

Cancer can cause a lot of worry with kids and so fun things like this can really brighten their day and be used anytime. We got one early on during my toddlers cancer treatment and his brothers have listened to it everyday since. They say it helps them feel comfortable when they are afraid at night. I can also see it being so helpful in the hospital setting as something super cool that a kid can have control of all by themselves.

"We LOVE the YOTO PLAYER!" - my kids

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Journaling For Kids

Lexi Robertson — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 17:10:28 +0000

Writing your experiences, thoughts, and feelings down can help deal with traumatic experiences such as childhood cancer and is a recommended resource for kids according to childresearch.net. What about kids that don’t like to write though? I recommend starting off with a book that introduces writing down your feelings such as Dear Me for young kids. This wonderfully illustrated book describes a boy who enjoys writing simple sentences about how he felt about different experiences he has. This is a great introduction to what journaling is and how it can be a tool to help you feel better. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid or The Princess Diaries are good introductions for older kids or teens.

For kids, getting a fun journal can make all the difference! For cancer families, it may not be helpful to get kid journals that already have prompts in them that tell them what to write. Sure, for some, it could be helpful to have directions to just get the feel of writing. To really get at their specific feelings and emotions regarding their experiences on a cancer journey though, a simple lined sheet paper journal might work better. Lines encourage kids to write down their feelings so perhaps steer away from blank page paper for that reason and leave those for art. Choosing a great journal cover can make all the difference. Choose a favorite character, show, or animal as these will be inviting. An encouraging phrase may motivate teens. Don’t forget the smelly markers or mechanical pens they will choose whenever they write in their journals. These add to a special experience they will want to come back to again and again.

What do you like to write about?

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Free Mediport shirts

Lexi Robertson — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 16:20:43 +0000

hese port shirts by jzips.org are a super helpful resource and something kids actually want to wear! Any child going through cancer is familiar with the process of getting their port needle put in their chest so that they can receive chemotherapy and have blood taken for lab work. Children take off their shirts and wait for the nurse to put them in and may wait without one for 15-20 minutes in a doctor’s office. It can get in the way when the port needs to be adjusted and you have to wait without one again to have the port taken off. For these reasons, my toddler often wore diapers and pants only while staying at the hospital or had to wear the hospital gown. If only more people knew about this free resource! These shirts can have your kid’s favorite characters on them or just be really cute and it is also easy to access the port without taking it off.

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