Successful ‘normalizing’ tactics of parents of chronically‐ill children

To be or to parent a chronically-ill child is a difficult experience. Parents can initiate 'normalizing' tactics that alleviate the child's feeling of being different and enable a sense of control with the possibility to influence the quality of life of the child and the family. Following up among 20 parents of chronically-ill children, the author was able to identify a number of principles which underlined the 'normalizing' tactics. These principles, it is suggested, should be helpful to nurses and other health workers when guiding and advising parents and others who come into daily contact with chronically-ill children.