Abstract
Understanding and co** with dementia and memory loss in a grandparent, relative, friend, or neighbor can be difficult for the entire family but may be particularly challenging for families with young children. Dementia symptoms vary significantly among individuals and by dementia subtype, which can make recognizing and understanding dementia symptoms confusing for family members and friends. This chapter begins by defining and reviewing the key characteristics of the four most common subtypes of dementia. In hel** children to understand what is happening with their loved one with dementia, parents must consider the child’s developmental level. Children’s cognitive development and characteristics of young children’s understanding of illness are explored to assist parents in tailoring developmentally appropriate explanations. This chapter also reviews children’s emotional development and ways that parents can build children’s emotional regulation and ability to cope with distress. Suggestions are provided for talking to children about dementia and hel** children cope with changes to their loved one’s behavior. Finally, suggestions for facilitating healthy interactions between children and familiar people with dementia are described, based on existing research from intergenerational programs.
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Gernant, A., Knight, L.A., Krecko, I.J. (2021). Explaining Dementia and Memory Loss to Young Children in Developmentally Appropriate Ways. In: Renck Jalongo, M., Crawford, P.A. (eds) Intergenerational Bonds. Educating the Young Child, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81965-1_5
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