Supporting families of critically ill children.

Having a critically ill child can be a heart-breaking experience. The sudden transformation of a healthy child to a critically ill or injured child causes parents to undergo feelings of pain and shock. Parents with a critically ill child are in acute need of support and intervention by caregivers. This article describes a parents' support group, conducted as part of a nursing programme student experience, in a pediatric critical-care unit. This experience provides information concerning the group that others may wish to replicate.