MUNCHAUSEN-BY-PROXY AND MEADOW’S SYNDROME: A PARENT’S POINT-OF-VIEW
From a parent’s point-of-view, it is important to be honest about family problems, to yourself, to your partner, and to others. Seeking help from a professional counsellor, when things begin to go wrong, may help to avert more serious problems. Try to insulate children from arguments and rows, and to protect them from tense and difficult situations until they are old enough to cope with them. Children are just as susceptible to psychosomatic illness as adults are, and sometimes physical symptoms are an expression of their distress. If your child is ill, try to think about that separately from your other problems, and to deal with it as rationally as possible. Be prepared to consider the possibility that it is nothing to do with food. Never exaggerate the child’s ill-health to anyone, and resist the temptation to manipulate other people by imposing special diets or other restrictions. Facing up to your own problems, and trying to resolve them, may be the best thing you could do for your child.
It has to be said that the existence of self-help books, such as this one, is regarded as part of the problem by some doctors. Munchausen’s syndrome is usually seen amongst those with some medical knowledge, such as failed medical students or nurses. Consequently, some doctors believe that ‘ignorance is bliss’ – if medical knowledge were more widespread, there would be more cases of Munchausen’s and Munchausen-by-proxy. So books that seek to inform the public about illness are simply adding to the problem.
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