Kids Grieve Too!®
Tips to Help Children Who Are Grieving
- Normalize death as best as you can in your interaction with them
- Have a well-rounded support system: family, friends, church affiliations, schools and counseling programs such as Kid’s Grieve Too!®
- Get your child into support groups with peers who are going through the same experience
- Make memorial rituals e.g. a sacred garden, a memorial altar in the home, memory books, and scrapbooks.
- Honor anniversary dates of loss: e.g. six months, first year, birthdays of loved one who died, holidays.
- Share the space when grieving; children tend to put their grief off to accommodate the parent who is grieving.
- Don’t try to fix the grief. Listen to your child instead. Reassure them that their tears and sadness are normal, and you’d be concerned if they didn’t feel them.
- Keep to regular routines, especially at bedtimes.
- Children know how to grieve naturally; follow their lead.
If you think your child is grieving excessively, please don’t hesitate to contact a professional for a grief assessment. Call Kathleen Davis, Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod Director of Bereavement and Counseling Services at 508-957-0200.