ABSTRACT

In this chapter we explore the intersection of two groups: children and those who are ill. We suggest that children who are ill are uniquely embodied, enacted and situated in ways that deeply affect their health needs and require significant consideration from health professionals. Children have bodies that constantly change. Their embodied schema differs dramatically from that of the fully mature adult. We make decisions for children and limit their ability to make choices and act on them, often in the name of their best interests and safety. How are these limits enacted when it comes to health? Finally, children largely live in families and these families are treated as a basic unit with which health professionals work. This impacts on children both when they are ill and when they experience illness in the family.