Welcome to the parents’ section of the Taking Charge: Managing JIA Online Program. This section is written mainly for the parents of teenagers who have juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The content in this section has been organized to guide you in helping your teenager to take charge of JIA management. The material in this section has been written in collaboration with members of the JIA team at The Hospital for Sick Children and various other health-care organizations.
Introduction for parents
This session shows you how to navigate through the program. It describes the various parts of the program, including the education sessions that are available for you and your teenager. It will also help you to set some goals to work toward, to help your teenager become more independent in managing their JIA.
The impact of JIA
JIA does not just affect your teenager; it can have a significant impact on the entire family. You as a parent may have feelings of guilt or other emotions that you need to work though. You might also worry about your teenager’s future and how to promote their independence. You may have other children who are jealous of the attention their sibling with JIA is receiving, and this can cause added stress. JIA may impact your family in other ways, such as disrupting plans and shortening the amount of time you have left to spend with other family members. There are also financial issues to consider. This session offers tips on how to cope with stress and worry, how to help siblings manage their feelings, how to manage the overall impact of JIA on your family, and how to cope with financial stressors.
Letting go
This session will help you learn how to deal with common issues during the teen years, and how to promote your teenager’s growing independence. It includes learning strategies to help your teenager take more of a leading role when it comes to the medical management of their JIA. You will also learn about how your role will change as your teenager gets older. This session gives some tips on how to help your teenager achieve that balance of responding to their pain while living life to the fullest despite their pain. It also goes through some of the newest studies on JIA in teenagers and describes your teenager’s role in research.
Please remember that this information should only be used as a guide. Every teenager’s situation is unique. If you have specific questions about your own teenager's care, please speak to their doctor.
Other parts to this program
At the bottom of this page, you will see a link to the Teens site. It contains the pages that your teenager can review. This includes information about JIA, the different types of JIA, how it is diagnosed, and various ways to treat JIA. It also contains information about looking ahead and helps teenagers to take over the management of JIA. You may wish to look through this information yourself.
Further information
For more information on the impact JIA will have on you, your child and your family, please see the following pages.
The impact of JIA on the family