Your child has a cleft lip and is about to start school and you are nervous that he or she may be the victim of a school bully. Our caring birth defects attorneys want to help you get ready for this. It is in any parent’s nature to want to nurture their child for as long as possible and shield them from the cruel outside world. Now that your child is school aged, this is less and less an option and you should be focusing and preparing your child for school and the social interactions that comes with it. As we all know from our school experiences, children can be cruel (although we are not suggesting that all children are). It is not to say that bullying will happen, just that it can happen, and you should take steps to prepare your child to deal with it in a positive way. We wish you and your child a happy school year and want it be as successful as possible.
Helping Your Child Understand Their Situation
It is important for your child to understand his or her condition in a way that helps them communicate to others what is different about them, as curious children may ask. Explaining this in a way that children can understand will be beneficial to your child and expose other children to the differences in people. Take the opportunity to make your child feel special and help him or her understand what is different (and special) about them.
It may go without saying, but taking photographs as your child matures is helpful so they can see their physical history and see it as “normal.” These photos document changes and help children have an opportunity to ask questions about their condition in a non-threatening environment.
In the case of a negative social interaction with another student, many parents get angry and want to confront the other child’s parents right away. Before you do, ask your child to express his or her feelings about it and try to understand what happened. Use this is a segue to discuss the birth defect in a positive way and ask how your child would like to proceed. Obviously, there are going to be situations where confronting the other parents is necessary, even if your child does not want to. But in some situations, letting kids work out their own differences, with a little adult help, can be beneficial.
Birth Defects Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia
In many cases, parents of a child with a cleft lip or palate ask if they need the services of birth defects attorneys. Due to the nature of the birth defect, lawyers would do little good. However, the FDA has recently announced that Topamax (Topiramate) has been linked to an increase in the development of cleft lip/palates. If you believe that Topamax may be involved with your child’s cleft palate/lip contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.