Our pediatrics chaplain, Dick Maddox, has compiled a list of things about the spiritual life of younger children living with cancer. We're buidling a list of his suggestions here - also feel free to contact chaplain Maddox on our community forum.

1. Children look to their parents and close family members to learn how to understand and cope religiously or spiritually with their cancer and treatment.

2. Children often conclude that their illness is the result of God, Allah, or other Supreme Being punishing them for their disobedience or misbehavior. Sometimes this comes from, or is reinforced by, hearing their loved ones say things like, "What did we do to deserve this?" or "Why didn't we go to church more often?"

3. The "work" of a child is play. A playful activity or play partmner will provide and sustain a child with hope and meaning.

4. Unlike an adult who replays the past and laments the loss of the future when chronically ill, a child dwells primarilly in the experiences and promises of today, tomorrow, and the next few days.

5. Children have a different vocabulary from adults. they do not generally know terema people around them use. For example, when someone speaks of the "presence" of God, Allah, or other Supreme Being, a child interprets "presence" more literally, assuming that God, Allah, or a Supreme being is physically close.