Why the rehabilitation of pediatric cerebral palsy must emphasize parental involvement

  Motor rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy is a long-term process, and many of the movements that a physician trains a child with cerebral palsy must be done in one-on-one or even two-on-one situations. Experience has taught us that 1-2 hours of training per day by the physician alone cannot solve all of the child’s problems. Therefore, a commitment must be made to integrate the basic principles of rehabilitation therapy into the child’s daily life. To achieve this, the direct involvement of the parents in the treatment must be emphasized. The family is the most familiar environment for the child and the parents are the child’s first teachers. In a psychological sense, parents have special feelings and deep love for their children, and know their children’s personality and hobbies best; children are closest to their parents and can understand their parents’ words best. Thus, if parents do training for their children, it is easiest to relieve the child of various psychological barriers, so that the child can actively cooperate to achieve a better training effect. Therefore, the focus of the physician’s work is not only to treat the child, but also to guide the parents, teach them some training methods and training principles, so that the child can get the parents’ active cooperation in the family. The close cooperation between the physician and the parents is of great importance to the rehabilitation of the child with cerebral palsy.