Explaining skin disease to children

“Samantha was a happy, outgoing 6-year-old who had been born with
a large port-wine stain on the left side of her face and neck. The mark
did not seem to bother Samantha. She and her mother referred to it as
her ‘strawberry stamp’, and joked about how it was proof that she loved
strawberry ice-cream. When she was around other children, they would
ask her questions about it and she seemed comfortable talking about it
and consequently did not appear to have difficulties engaging with other
children. As the time approached when she would be starting school, her
mother, Janice, began to feel concerned about how other children in the
class would react to her. She decided to speak to a teacher at the school who
suggested that it might be a good idea if Samantha could talk to them about
her birthmark. She suggested that through this any erroneous ideas that the
other children had about Samantha could be dispelled and she could take
control of the situation by offering explanations that she felt comfortable and
happy with. Janice discussed the teacher’s suggestion with her daughter
who seemed quite excited about the idea of talking to the other children
about her ‘strawberry stamp’. Samantha was able to talk about her mark
and give a description of how it made her feel, how it didn’t hurt to touch
and about how much she really liked eating strawberry ice-cream and that
she and her mother often joked that it showed! The other children reacted
positively towards Samantha; with their curiosity satisfied at an early stage
and any fears they had dispelled, Samantha was able to settle into her new
class and the issue of her ‘strawberry stamp’ rarely came up with her friends
or classmates.
”

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