Achieving the right family life balance means preventing hemophilia from becoming your central focus.

Here are some tips for keeping hemophilia from defining your family:

• Communicate openly and encourage everyone to share concerns.
  
• Respect each other’s differences in coping. Some family members may want to talk and share often, others may be more private.
  
• Regardless of how someone copes, respect their feelings.
  
• Create a positive atmosphere for your family.
  
• Recognize the needs of all your children, including those not affected by hemophilia.

There are many resources for keeping your family life well-balanced, including:

1. Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) is an innovative peer-to-peer skills training program supported by Bayer HealthCare to introduce parents to the tools for handling the realities of raising a child with a bleeding disorder. Since 1995, more than 87 HTCs have implemented a PEP program. Your local PEP program is led by HTC social workers, parents and health care professionals who use classroom discussions, role playing and hands-on experiences to educate parents about the types of skills needed to effectively parent a child with hemophilia.
   
   Click here to attend the next PEP workshop in your area.
   
   
2. Inalex Communications is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of all family members in the bleeding disorder community who must work through the daily issues that arise when they, a family member or friend are afflicted with a bleeding disorder. The program includes education and support offerings through teleconferences, workshops, retreats, newsletters, a live chat line and other resources.

One way to gauge how well you’re balancing family life is to monitor the feelings of your other children. Read our article When Siblings Feel Left Out for more information.