Talking to Children About HIV and AIDS

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Learning About and Living With HIV/AIDS

Since the world first became acquainted with AIDS more than 20 years ago, the research and literature available about the subject has grown in leaps and bounds. Just try typing “AIDS” into any search engine and you’ll be bombarded with thousands upon thousands of hits. By asking more specific questions about the subject, you can start using the Web to learn how to successfully live with the disease, talk to someone about HIV/AIDS, or get involved in activism organizations.

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HIV/AIDS: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment

If you or a friend or family member has recently been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, you probably have ... read more »

Living With HIV

Now that you know you are HIV positive, your medical care will become one of the most important ... read more »

Talking to Children About HIV and AIDS

It can be difficult to talk to kids about HIV and AIDS. You might be asking yourself: How do I explain things in a way the children will understand? How much information is too much? The Web can help you answer these questions.

Dulcinea's Insight

Think about your child’s age and maturity level when you're trying to decide how much to say about HIV/AIDS. Some of the recommended Web sites break down HIV/AIDS into age-appropriate levels designed to increase understanding without creating unnecessary fear of the disease.

Web sites that focus on talking to children about a variety of issues are helpful in discussing HIV/AIDS, but a health-oriented Web site will have the most complete medical information about HIV/AIDS to present to your child.

Our findingDulcinea Parenting Web Guide has a section that takes you to Web sites with advice on talking with children about tough issues.

Dulcinea's Picks

The University of Missouri Extension

also breaks down HIV/AIDS into several levels of understanding, with specific notes about high-risk behavior and safe behavior concerning the virus. Tips are given for discussing HIV/AIDS with children ages 5–18.

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Talking With Kids About Tough Issues

helps you break down sex, drug use, and HIV/AIDS into varying degrees of information so that you can adjust a conversation with your child to an age-appropriate level, and also provides some role-playing activities. One useful piece of information on this Web site is a brief section about how to initiate a discussion of HIV/AIDS with your child. Booklets about HIV/AIDS and other tough issues are available for download from the site in English and Spanish.

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The National Pediatric AIDS Network

covers many aspects of children with HIV or AIDS, including how to them that they have the virus, therapy options, and camps for HIV positive children and their family members. One very useful aspect of this site is the “Just Diagnosed” section, which offers a guide to what literature you should read at various stages of dealing with HIV/AIDS, including Opportunistic Infections, and Anti-HIV Therapy Strategies. You can also read stories from others either living with or affected by HIV.

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