My 15 yr old DD has self-harm scars on her arms and legs. She has made huge progress towards stopping self-harming and I am so proud of how far she has come - she is a wonderful, beautiful girl. However, her scars are still very visible and marked on the top of her arms and legs and she tends to cover them up, especially around family members. She is more open with her friends.
At home, everyone knows about her self-harm except for her youngest sibling - DS who is 7 years old. We haven't talked to him about it because it feels like he is too young to understand - and although I don't want him to feel it is a 'secret', at the same time, we have not told many people about it and we would like to keep it that way.
With all the hot weather - plus we are going away on a beach holiday later this year - it is getting harder and harder to keep this from DS and for my DD to stay covered up.
Does anyone have any experience of telling children - especially younger siblings - about self-harm? How do you explain it? I would so love some advice as it is such a sensitive issue and I'm really not sure how best to deal with it in everyone's best interest.
Thanks so much.