If a family member or loved one is suffering from a life-threatening illness and does not have much time left, it is essential to prepare your child for the loss. Children process loss differently than adults, and without the right support, the impact of grief can be long-lasting—affecting not only their emotional development but also their physical and mental well-being.
Understanding Grief in Children
Grief in children can manifest in many ways, including changes in behavior, sleep disturbances, withdrawal from social interactions, and difficulties in school. Some children may feel confused, scared, or even guilty. That’s why it’s important to have open and honest conversations with your child—using age-appropriate language—so they feel safe to express their emotions.
Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in helping children navigate this difficult time. You can support your child by being present, validating their feelings, maintaining routines for a sense of stability, and encouraging creative outlets like drawing or storytelling to help them process their grief.
It’s also important to recognize when professional support is needed. Grief counseling or child therapy can make a significant difference, especially if the child shows signs of prolonged sadness, anxiety, or behavioral issues.
This article provides practical tips to help you understand the unique needs of mourning children and how to guide them through their grief journey with compassion. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness, or log on to Behavioral Health – Doral Health & Wellness NY to learn more about how we can support your child and your family during this time.
Tips to help a child grieve
Several approaches can help your child to grieve over the loss of your loved ones:
Let them participate in funeral arrangements:
Let your children participate throughout the funeral process like choice of photos, music, flowers, preparation of a drawing, crafts, etc. Their participation allows them to acknowledge everything that is happening, deepen their understanding of death, and start their grieving process among other things.
The parents or another person significant to the child should help them prepare before the day of the funeral by giving as many details as possible such as:
- Describe the coffin or the urn.
- Describe the locations (funeral home, church, cemetery, etc.).
- Talk about the emotions they might feel during the day.
- Tell them how adults may behave (like laughing, crying, telling stories about the deceased, being devastated, in disbelief or denial, etc.).
Talk about the deceased person:
To help your child grieve, you should talk to them about the deceased. These following questions may encourage your child to open up and talk:
- What do they like to do the most with this person?
- What did this person do to make them laugh?
- What did you miss the most after the person passed away?
- If you could talk to them today, what would you like to tell them?
- What games do you like to play with the person?
Do an activity to honor the deceased:
A parent or relative may suggest doing some kind of ritual or activity like simply setting up a special place with photos and meaningful objects to honor the deceased. A parent or relative could make a photo album, scrapbook, gift box, etc. in honor of the deceased. Then you can explain to the child that they can go through this when they feel the need or miss the person. You could also bring the child to a location that had a special connection with the child and the deceased person (like a park, arena, beach, restaurant, etc.), and encourage them to open up about their memories so that they can grieve about their loss.
Helping your child cope with grieving the loss of loved ones will be difficult because you are dealing with grief as well. However, at this time taking care of them is crucial. If you struggle to help your child grieve, use the above-mentioned tips. If you and your child struggle with grieving, then seek palliative counseling which helps you cope with grief and provides support.
If you need help to cope with your or your child’s grieving process, visit our mental health clinic in Brooklyn to get professional palliative counselor help. Call us to book your appointment now to get the support you need!!!!
If you need help finding a good therapist for your mental health issues, then visit our clinic, our therapists have years of experience in treating patients with therapy sessions. So, pay a visit and see for yourself. Your life will change with a single step. So, take that step with us!!
Call us on +1-718-367-2555 to get a consultation. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to www.doralhw.org. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.
