Helping Children With Grief

Greif Can be More Confusing for a Child to Process, so Here are Some Ways to Support Them

Losing loved ones is part of life, and children need adults to help them understand how to deal with the complexities of emotions and loss. Once one of the local funeral homes in Pace, FL, has been contacted to schedule services, this can cause questions about that process and the child’s loss in general. Finding ways to give them healthy grieving habits is crucial, so here are some helpful tips.

Teach them About Emotions

You first want to let them know that grief is a natural process after loss and to not be afraid of it. In many cases, people will avoid or suppress their feelings because they don’t want to express them or don’t know how to behave in a healthy way. The feelings may go unaddressed for an extended period, so when they are finally expressed, they can come out as a large amount of negative. So it’s highly recommended to let them know grief is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of and help them find ways to process their experience.

Find Ways to Help Them Express Their Feelings

Remember that each individual is different, and no grief processes will be the same. What might work for you may not work for your child, so here are a few ideas to offer them:

• Have them draw an image of their emotions
• Ask them to write down a special memory with a loved one
• Create an item together like a scrapbook or quilt
• Give them arts and crafts options to create
• Read aloud books together that are age appropriate about grief

Make Extra Time for Them

A big part of processing loss is remembering the loved one. Setting aside extra time for the child to tell stories, look at photos, and watch videos, can encourage them to share their feelings and favorite stories and show them you are a safe person to listen to their experience.

Keep Their Schedule Stable

Planning the funeral and going through the loss can cause an upheaval in the regular schedule. Another crucial part of helping the child is ensuring their routine activities are still in place and encouraging them to spend time doing things they enjoy.

Use Honest and Age Appropriate Language

Grief will look different depending on the child’s age, and the reaction of a teenager will be different than that of a four-year-old. You want to be sure to use appropriate language for your child’s age and find references if you need extra support to help identify other methods.

When You Need Trusted and Quality Care, We are Here for You

As you can see, several important considerations for giving a child the appropriate support as they navigate a loss. And if you have recently lost a loved one in our research funeral homes in Pace, FL, we are here to support you. Our company is locally owned and would love to help you create a truly meaningful event, so contact us today if you need to plan ahead.