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Burns psychology leaflet for parents and carers of young children

Posted Friday, 17 July 2026

Date issued: June 2026

Review date: June 2028

Leaflet section: Plastic Surgery

PDF: Burns psychology leaflet for parents and carers of young children.pdf [pdf] 162KB

Paediatric Burns Psychology Service

Who is the paediatric burns psychology service for?

The Paediatric Burns Psychology Service at University Hospitals Plymouth is for children of all ages who have suffered a burn injury and their parents/carers. We support families who are experiencing psychological distress related to the child’s burn injury. This includes supporting parents/carers who are struggling following their child’s burn injury or who would like to meet to think about they can support their child.

Please note, our service is not able to provide support for pre-existing mental health difficulties or emotional distress that is unrelated to the burn injury.

Common reactions to a burn injury

People respond to burn injuries in different ways, and it can take time to adjust. The size and severity of a burn does not predict how you or your child will feel. A burn of any size can have an emotional impact on a child and parent. Feelings of distress may appear immediately after the event, or they may come up days, weeks, months or years later.

Common reactions for babies and young children following a burn injury:

Babies and young children may continue to feel frightened, unsafe or upset after the event has passed. They may also be experiencing physical pain. Babies and young children often express their feelings through behaviour, rather than words. This might look like:

Strong emotional outbursts or meltdowns
Challenging boundaries
Clinginess (wanting to be close to parents/carers) or separation anxiety
Reverting to younger behaviour (e.g. wanting a bottle instead of a cup, bed-wetting when they weren’t previously, baby talk)
Difficulty sleeping or having nightmares
Seeming easily startled or alert to danger
Seeming more anxious, tearful, upset or irritable and angry than normal
Avoiding certain situations or places (e.g. the place where the burn injury happened)
Acting out / recreating events around the burn injury in their play, drawing it or repeating stories about the event.

Common reactions for parents following their child’s burn injury include:

Anxiety, panic and stress
Feeling guilty or responsible for what happened
Worrying about your child’s future
Struggling with thinking about/managing your child’s medical treatment
Struggling with the change in your child’s mood or behaviour following the burn injury
Feeling unsure about how to best support your child
Anger and irritability
Low mood, hopelessness and tearfulness
Numbness and shock
Struggling with managing opinions or questions from others
Thinking about the event when you do not want to or experiencing flashbacks
Trying to avoid reminders of the event
Struggling with sleep

These are normal and common reactions after experiencing or witnessing something frightening or distressing and many parents/carers whose child has had a burn injury will experience some of them. For some these reactions are temporary and settle by themselves over time.

How can I support my child?

Support your child to feel safe: This might include holding, cuddling and comforting them more often. You might use simple phrases to let them know they are safe and you are there. Research shows that eye contact and smiles while being held by a parent/guardian helps babies to feel safe.
Maintain your child’s routine: Sticking to your child’s familiar, normal routines as much as possible and having regular meals and bedtimes provides a sense of safety and security for your child.
Remember that a change in behaviour or increased meltdowns may be their way of letting you know they are struggling: Holding this in mind may support you to respond calmly and patiently to big feelings or tricky behaviour. With children who can talk, you could help them name how they feel (e.g. ‘I wonder if you are feeling scared/sad/angry’). Let them know it’s okay to feel that way while maintaining consistent boundaries around their behaviour (e.g. ‘it’s okay to feel upset, but it’s not okay to hit your brother).
Spend time with friends and family: Being around those who love them is supportive for children.
Helping your child through play: Children sometimes use play and repetition as a way of processing and making sense of their experiences. You can support this through listening to and observing them, rather than leading their play. You can also use play and simple words to explain why medical treatments are happening. For example, you could use play/toys to show your child what might happen at an appointment.
Look after yourself: Young children often respond to situations based on how their parents respond. Understandably you may be feeling upset following the burn. It will be harder for you to be present and calm with your child if you are struggling. It can be helpful to reach out to family, friends or the burns team for support and to share how you are feeling. Sticking to routines (e.g. eating, sleeping) is important for adults too!

If you find that your child continues to be distressed, or you are continuing to struggle yourself or feel unsure about how to support your child, it can be helpful to talk about this further with a Clinical Psychologist.

What is a clinical psychologist?

Clinical Psychologists are trained professionals who work in physical health and mental health settings. We support people of all ages to make sense of their experiences by exploring feelings, thoughts and behaviours.

How can I access the paediatric burns psychology service?

Please speak to a member of your burns healthcare team who can refer on your behalf. If you do not have any upcoming appointments with the burns team, please call 01752 432104 or 01752 431518 to speak to the burns admin team and they can support you to self-refer.

What next?

You may be contacted by the burns psychology team for further information, or you may be added to the waiting list for a first appointment. In the first appointment we will explore how things are for you and your child and think together about the best route forward. Some people find a one-off appointment beneficial in its own right, while others benefit from ongoing support. Appointments will be face to face at Derriford hospital or another hospital site. We can also offer appointments online via a secure platform ‘Attend Anywhere’.

What might the burns clinical psychologist support my family with?

Support for you as a parent around difficult feelings you are experiencing following the burn (e.g. anxiety, guilt)
Supporting you with upsetting or intrusive memories or flashbacks of the event
Supporting you and your child around their feelings and behaviour following the burn injury
Supporting you and/or your child around medical treatments that feel challenging
Concerns around your child’s return to nursery/school
Adjustment and thinking about the future
Managing other people’s behaviours, comments and opinions
Other burns-related psychological distress

Confidentiality

What you or your child talk about in the appointment will be confidential unless we are concerned about risk and the safety of you, your child or others. We will let staff involved in your child’s care know that we have met you. There may be times we might share information with the healthcare team to help us provide you and your family with the best service we can, but we will discuss this with you first.

Useful information and support

We understand that not all families will feel they need or want to speak to the Clinical Psychologist in the burns service. There are other places you can access support or information for you and your child now or in the future:

Children’s Burns Trust offer information, support and family weekends for families with a child who has had a burn injury. Please see their website or contact them via telephone 07802635590
Changing Faces is the ‘UK’s leading charity for everyone with a scar, mark or condition on their face or body that makes them look different’. You can access information and support, including online workshops for patients, via their website or call 0300 012 0275 from 10am to 4pm (weekdays)
Supporting Children with Burns is a website offering support for parents following their child’s burn injury. It includes information on how to support your child, and the impact on parents and how to support yourself
Frenchay After Burns Children’s Club (FAB) supports young burns survivors and their families to build self-esteem and confidence through activities, camps and day trips. Tel 07821 989 845
Healthtalk have a ‘burn injuries’ section on their website. This has information from individuals who have had a burn injury or have a child with a burn injury about a variety of topics (e.g. being a parent of a child with a burn injury, treatment, daily life and adjustment, support). healthtalk.org
Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit - this is an e-book developed by researchers and parents with lived experience. It is aimed at supporting parents/carers of children with a visible difference, such as a burn scar. It can be found at visibledifferencesupporthub.com/the-visible-difference-parenting-toolkit/

If you have urgent concerns about the emotional wellbeing and mental health of someone in your family: The burns psychology service is not a crisis mental health service and is not able to offer emergency support. If urgent support is needed, please contact your GP or First Response (via NHS 111 and select the mental health option).

Other formats

If you need this leaflet in another format such as Braille, large print, high contrast, British Sign Language or translated into another language, contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS):

01752 439694
plh-tr.PALS@nhs.net