Explaining CPAP to kids

cowlypso wrote: Mostly about whether to wait until somebody asked, or just say something outright. I appreciate all the input.

Definitely don't wait. If I was a kid and didn't know about cpap and someone put that on when going to bed, I'd be scared!

retrodave15 wrote:

MsBea wrote: told my grandsons, ages 6 and 8 at the time, the machine helps me breathe. At first they called me an elephant but now I'm a fighter pilot....pretty cool grandma!

My youngest stepdaughter called me Mr Elephant, but my oldest said that since Star Wars was my favorite movie I was trying to impersonate Darth Vader!

Actually they both understand that Mommy and Daddy are doing this to be healthy and be around for a long time. They like that I am now in a better mood an not as grumpy.

Cute!

One time while sleeping at my son's home, I awoke to my grandson and his dog watching me sleep. The other grandson informed me that he and his Dad watched me sleep when they were visiting over Christmas. I guess I'm good for entertainment if nothing else! LOL

Perhaps you should run it by the parents? I bet kids' previous experiences will affect how they feel about it and whether it is scary or a non-issue. I should have looked at your profile before I started typing and I'm rushing, but I bet pillows and nothing else will be less scary than a FFM. Keep in mind that there is a worry that kids will hide from fire fighters because they are afraid of them in their attire, so I think the more your face is covered, the scarier it is. I would give parents an opportunity to explain it to their kids beforehand, in case they want to.

Thanks for all of the input. Just wanted to let you all know how it went.

I said something along the lines of "Just so you know, I use this machine to help me breathe when I sleep, because sometimes I have trouble breathing while I'm sleeping. It sounds a little like Darth Vader, so I wanted you to know what it was in case you heard it." One kid asked what happened if I didn't use it, and I said that my breathing slowed down and it woke me up, and that was good enough for them.

The second night one little girl said that she heard my machine once or twice (you really couldn't hear it at all when the heater was running, which was most of the night because it was cold!), and that it did sound like Darth Vader. And that was that. No problems at all!

You've gotten some great tips on how to approach this with children, I do agree to explain it if possible well before bedtime, also choose your words carefully and remember that kids can take things very literally, sometimes joking around doesn't compute with them. A doctor once told my 4 year old that, "when he grows up he'll be a real lady killer." He cried all the way home, and when I asked him why he was crying after all he hadn't gotten an injection he told me, because he didn't want to kill ladies when he grew up, he wanted to be a Fireman.

Portiemom, I loved that story snippet. It reminded me of when my eldest was 4 and his brother a baby. People tried to joke that they wanted to take the baby home and it horrified him. Finally we figured out to tell people that our boys were for rent, but not for sale. We explained to him this meant they would ALWAYS come home.

If you're using a nasal mask show them that you can purse your lips and exhale forever. That seems to fascinate them.