A little book about red, itchy, dry, sore skin....Eczema explained for little readers..YAY!

 On a recent visit to the op shop, I took a peek at the children's books as I often do to see if there was anything worth while.

I was very surprised when I noticed this small book with Eczema in the title!!!

After getting over the shock of finding this type of book in a op shop of all places, plus reading the price at 50 cents, I had a quick flick and claimed it :)

It's not very often you see educational books for children on subjects such as Eczema!!!

 At flipping over the book to the back cover I was happy to see that this book was one of a series published about different medical conditions, educating children about health, illness and the role of the Doctor.

The book are written by a Melbourne Doctor, many of his patients were children at the time the books were published.
He has three children of his own and felt the need to educate children about their health and how to keep safe and happy.
The Doctor Toby books aim to make a visit to the Doctor less worrying for the child.

I am very thankful that this little book made it's way to our local op shop, I'm hoping the previous owners used it and had success with it helping their child/ren with the hard times of eczema.

The book deals with all the emotions, embarrassment, social awkwardness and pain that comes with eczema from a child's point of view. More importantly it gives reassurance, positive thoughts, hope, confidence and power to the affected child through the story that unfolds.

The book follows the journey of a young girl (Kim) who didn't want to attend swimming lessons and wear bathers because she was embarrassed about her skin.
Kim's Mum explains that she had had eczema when she was a baby and it might be a good time to go back and see the Doctor about what they could do to help her skin.
After a visit to the Doctor, queries about foods that might affect Kim's skin, ointments, bath oil, creams and a few weeks Kim's skin improves.
By the end of school term Kim is beginning to swim very well and is confident about who she is.

I like the fact that the book mentions that "lots of people have eczema" (making the child feel not so isolated and alone), "Eczema is not something that a doctor can just fix up right away" (not giving false hope) and that the book ends with "her skin looks very clear now. Just occasionally she uses some milder ointment if her eczema gets a little itchy again" (leaving the child knowing that Eczema doesn't have a quick fix but can be managed and make for a much happier life).

I'm hoping that my Munchkins like this book as much as me and find hope in it's pages.

I'll leave you with some of the illustrations from the book...

 

 

 

If anyone has any good children's books about Eczema please share the details :)

" mummy I am different!"

Today I had the pleasure of some wonderful Mummy moments and I simply must share them with you.

Since Declan was diagnosed with Anaphylaxis to eggs and nuts roughly a year ago, our every day family life has changed to suit. Even though Declan was a month shy of 2 when he was diagnosed and he cannot fully understand the severity of his allergies Andy and I have made sure spoken about it with him with age appropriate explanations.
We hope to educate him and give him the correct tools emotionally to cope with these allergies and show him that he is different but he is not strange or weird but just special in his own way.

Not long after his allergies became known we purchased a allergy alert wrist band for him (he has never really worn it as he never liked it) and he received the wonderful book pictured below as a gift from his Great Gran parents.

We have many conversations about what is "safe food" and what makes Declan sick. He loves and often helps me in the kitchen whether it be making biscuits for the family, baking cakes, helping make lunch and dinner and so on.
The last couple of months he has started to really grasp what his allergies are and we have noticed on occasion him asking others if a food has eggs or nuts or simply reminding them that he can't have them.This showed us that all the information was starting to sink in.
Declan and I sat down yesterday afternoon and got out the woman's weekly birthday cake books and made sure Decaln was still happy with the cake he picked out months ago (a stegosaurus cake ). After talking about all the different animals, shapes colours etc he finally agreed to mummy's relief that the Stegosaurus cake was still the best for his party next month. Mind you Mummy had already gone shopping and brought the party hats, plates and cups all with a dinosaur theme!
Declan sat at the dinning table at breakfast this morning and was obviously thinking back on yesterdays activity looking through the cake books. He soon reminded me that we were going to have a party for Declan soon and then explained..
Declan: "no eggs and nuts, keep them away...they will make Declan sick"
Me: "Yes that's right Declan! We are having a special dinosaur party for you next month. We will have lots of yummy food but it will all "safe food" because we don't eat eggs and nuts, they are not safe. It would be very sad if you got sick"
Decaln: "Thankyou Mummy, I don't want to get sick"
I smiled to myself thinking wow, he really does understand to a degree! and he was confident in himself.
It was even better before dinner tonight as he was reading his "why am I different?" allergy book with daddy, pointing to the pictures of eggs and nuts and telling daddy they were not safe for Declan. By the end of the book he was happy to wear his special allergy alert wrist band and continued looking through the book again without daddy as if it was the best book ever.
About 5 minutes later he stood up and exclaimed with a loud voice very confidently "Mummy I am different!". Andy and I were quite surprised and quickly said something to the effect of "Yes Declan you are, you are different and your very special because your you. We love you!".
Decaln had the biggest smile on his face and looked very chuffed as though he had just explained to Mummy and Daddy that he understood the book and his situation.
It was an awesome moment and Andy and I couldn't have wiped the smiles of our faces if we tried.....our little man was showing confidence in who he was and enjoying the learning process!!! horray
We are so proud of you Little man! ox