Parents' experiences of care decisions about children with life-limiting illnesses.

Parents understand the importance of planning for the end of their child's life but find the process difficult. They also find it a challenge to verbalise their decisions at the end of their child's life and value having the decision partly taken away from them. Professionals can assist parents by using a non-dissent model of decision making. The parents' values are important in these decisions and should be elicited by professionals during the initial stages of decision making.