When Chris Capstick was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, his family stopped using the word at home. For his two youngest children, it became “daddy’s little monsters”.

In November, Chris, from Bromborough in Wirral, was told at the age of 40 that the cancer was terminal.

His wife Lauren said she had to help their children understand what was coming, without frightening them.

“It was really, really hard,” said the 30-year-old, who works as an arts coordinator for young people but has taken time away to support her husband.

“Hearing the word terminal…you’ve kind of got to get yourself ready in a way and prepare yourself. I suppose you start like a grieving process.

“Having a six-year-old and a two-year-old, we didn’t really know how to navigate it.”

Lauren said that led to an idea for a rhyming storybook with their eldest daughter Isabella, now six.

“We thought what a great thing to do little cartoon monsters in a way that aren’t scary,” Lauren said.

“The book’s very subtle. Isabella doesn’t even know the word, we haven’t told her that word.”

Isabella wanted to write the book from her own perspective, with colourful illustrations on each page.

Lauren said she and Isabella kept the project secret from Chris and gave it to him on Father’s Day.

“We actually kept it from Chris,” said Lauren. “We didn’t tell him about it and we gave it to him on Father’s Day. He was speechless. He didn’t know what to say.

“He didn’t know whether to read it there and then because obviously the front cover said ‘Daddy’s little monsters’ he knows that is what she knows [about the cancer].

“He just told her how proud he was and we’re both so proud of her.”

Lauren said the book had helped keep conversations open about how Isabella was feeling.

“It has actually stopped her from closing off emotionally, so she’s very, very open with her feelings and questions towards the diagnosis,” she said.

The book was first created for the family, but is now on Amazon after a family friend suggested it could help others in similar situations.

“We just weren’t expecting it to blow up, to be honest,” Lauren said. “It’s been up for a week and she has sold 138 copies.”

According to the Childhood Bereavement Network, about one in 29 children and young people aged five to 16 will face the bereavement of a parent or sibling at some point in childhood. That is roughly one per class.

June Davis, lead nursing and allied health professional adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, said there was no right or wrong way to talk to children about a cancer diagnosis.

“People often feel that talking to children will make them worry but it is important to give them the chance to talk openly about their fears and worries,” she said.

“Parents could also consider using simple language and keeping the information relevant to what is happening now rather than what may happen in the future.

“It’s always a good idea to give children the option of asking questions and talking about how they feel.”

She said simple explanations and familiar terms can help with younger children.

“Don’t feel you need to cover everything at once but do try to keep the conversation on-going by perhaps saying, ‘you can always ask me anything, even if you ask it again’,” she said.

“This can help surface any worries they may have such as, for example, cancer being something that they might catch.

“Reassure them where you can, that their routines will continue.”

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