Challenges Faced By Children Living With Disabled Parents

Growing up with disabled parents presents one of life’s most significant challenges, as it entails navigating many obstacles that can profoundly impact a child’s experiences and perspective. And what would happen if enemies invaded their country during this time? The challenge only becomes greater.

Children facing these unique circumstances must adapt and overcome challenges their parents might not fully understand. We must also remember that in times of conflict and war, children are the ones who are the most affected. 

In this blog, we will explore the difficulties faced by children living with disabled parents and how their difficulties only increased during the war.

An Infinite Number of Challenges

Imagine you are ten years old, living in a small town near Amsterdam with your disabled parents. Not only are they deaf and mute, but they are also physically immobile. One unfortunate day, war sirens begin to ring out of nowhere. 

NeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEE! 

Everybody in your neighborhood begins to run or take shelter in the basement. The shopkeepers halt their operations by dropping metallic shutters, and then a loud bang—there is chaos everywhere. 

Unimaginable right?

It sounds like a scene from a Hollywood movie, but it was traumatic for Johannes Krane, the author of Innocence Denied. He describes in detail his firsthand experiences of living during the German invasion of the Netherlands while living with his deaf and mute parents and how he and his brother navigated through life’s challenges during the wartime. 

The Burden of Care

It is important to establish that the children of disabled parents often find themselves surrounded by responsibilities beyond their developmental abilities. Coordinating medical appointments, assisting them physically, or administrating medications are all additional burdens on their lives.

In times of war, witnessing your loved ones’ struggles firsthand will strain you emotionally. Even though you have been caring for your parents for a long time, the additional stress, fear, and uncertainty of living in a warzone are surely traumatizing.

Financial Problems

It is a common observation that families consisting of disabled parents put up with great financial hurdles that can have detrimental impacts on the overall family’s well-being, especially their economic stability. During the hardships of war, children living under such conditions find limited access to fundamental necessities such as food, water, and shelter.

When considering the healthcare expenses and adaptive devices, it becomes quite apparent that the family’s limited resources leave the children in a precarious situation that often leads to an ethical or moral dilemma.

What if you were to be asked to survive the “hunger winter” under such conditions? Would you be able to survive? Or would you neglect the care of your parents? 

Find out in Innocence Denied what Johannes Krane and his brother Dick did for survival –in complete darkness with no hopes to escape, terrorized by the Nazi invasion.

Finding Light in The Darkness

Witnessing parents’ struggles, caring for their needs, and going through with their demands, especially during times of war, can profoundly impact children’s emotional and mental well-being. 

If you want to learn more about the challenges faced by children living with disabled parents during the war, Innocence Denied is the heart-wrenching tale of the sorrow and survival of Johannes Krane. 

This book is the memoir of a 10-year-old boy who endured unimaginable suffering and sorrow during the hunger winters of 1994 – caring for his deaf and mute parents during the darkest hour humanity ever faced.