These parents have a grim diagnosis. When should they tell their kids?

Frida Hansson, 41, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in December 2023 after years of experiencing confusing symptoms.

Around that time, her teenage son moved in with his dad, her ex. It didn't feel like the right time to tell him what was going on with her health, she said. So she didn't.

Years passed. Hansson said she never found the right moment to bring it up. She tried, several times, to come clean over coffee or dinner. "Every time I'm like, nope, couldn't do it," she said.

But when her son, now 17, came to live with her this summer and saw how much had changed with her health and day-to-day needs, she realized she couldn't avoid the conversation any longer.

"I regret that I didn't talk to (him) sooner," Hansson, who lives in Sweden, told USA TODAY. "I waited too long for that conversation to happen."

The anticipatory grief that comes with a fatal diagnosis is often overwhelming for many adults. For parents, the news might feel too heavy to give to their children, too. But young people are resilient, said Linda Mathew, a licensed clinical social worker who co-led the Talking with Children About Cancer program…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/life/