Loss of Parent, Sibling, or Relative @supportingthosedealingwithg-blog - Tumblr Blog

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#loss of a parent #loss of a loved one #never forget

Denial

Emotional numbing

Anger, irritability, and episodic rage

Fear and characteristic rushes of anxiety (pangs)

Confusion

Difficulty sleeping

Regressive behaviors

Physical complaints such as “stomachaches” or headaches

Changes in appetite (overeating or lack of interest in food)

Transient visual or auditory misperceptions of the loved one’s image or voice

Grief is normal, but if emotional or behavioral problems are extreme, persist beyond six months, or compromise the child’s capacity to learn, professional help is advised.

Bereavement Support Resources for Teachers

For comprehensive resources to assist students coping with parental loss, Cavalieri recommends the Coalition to Support Grieving Children. Both national teachers’ unions are members of the coalition.

“This is a user-friendly site that provides practical, accessible information about the issue of childhood grief and how best to support a grieving child. This online resource uses a dynamic multimedia approach to present current best practices for addressing grief at school as well as supplemental information for parents supporting their own children.”

http://familyliveson.me/2015/06/01/support-for-students-who-have-lost-a-parent-the-family-lives-on-foundation/

8 Ways to help your Grieving Students and Developmental Differences in Understanding Death

Tips For Talking About Loss With Children

Don’t be afraid to talk about death or loss. Children do not benefit from “not thinking about it” or “putting it out of their minds."

Share some of your own feelings and thoughts. Sometimes children act as if they have not heard anything you have said, but they have. Be prepared to repeat the same information again and again.

Invite children to talk about feelings they have regarding the event or death. Then you can let them take the lead as to when, how long, and how much this is discussed.

During these initial conversations, try to understand what the children think about death. Do they have a view of afterlife? The more you understand about how the children think about death, the easier it will be for you to talk about it in a meaningful way.

If children sense that you are upset by the loss, they may not bring the topic up even when they want to. Be a good role model, showing children how to express emotions in a healthy and nondisruptive fashion. It can be very helpful for children to know that you have been affected by the event and that you are willing to talk about how you feel.

Help the children understand how devastated their classmate feels. Explain that this child may be more tired than usual, more irritable, and less interested in playing. Advise them that their classmate may want to talk about the loss and encourage them to listen

Tell the children that this is a completely out-of-bounds topic for teasing. You can teach the children to respect the grieving process and avoid the emotional tender spots for a child. Also help children understand that this will be a long process and a major challenge for their classmate.

To share your experiences regarding this topic visit the Kids in Crisis online discussion group.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/death_and_loss.htm

#survivingsiblingsuicide #stages of grief #reality of a loss #everyone is different

Anxiety, Insecurity and Fear

After the loss of a loved one, a child’s world may feel unfamiliar and unsafe. The question, “Who is going to take care of me?” is important to answer. Family circumstances may have changed dramatically. The remaining parent is required to take on the responsibilities left by the other parent. This leaves less time for nurture and care of the children in the family. This further destabilizes grieving children. In these cases, we see either an overly parentified child, one who takes on adult mannerisms and responsibilities, or attention-seeking, often disruptive behavior. Even negative attention is better than no attention at all.

http://childgrief.org/howtohelp.htm

#death #death of a loved one #grieving #mourning

parentingtoolbox

Children and Grief

Grieving the loss of a loved one is difficult, especially for a child. When a child loses a loved one to death or incarceration, the loss can have a profound effect on the rest of his or her life.

Emotional, psychological and physical trauma that often come with loss challenge children’s well-being and school performance. Grieving children are likely to feel different, and very alone.

While concealing deep emotional pain, fear and loss of concentration, children are in the pressure cooker of expectations to grow emotionally and academically. They say that seeing friends with parents and parent/child school activities are daily reminders of their own loss.

Children express grief in a different way than adults. They tend to move in and out of intense feelings, rather than sustaining high levels of one emotion for long periods of time. When adults see a grieving child playing or laughing, they may mistakenly believe that the child is “over it”. This perception may influence how much grief support a child receives.

In the United States, approximately 4.8 million children under 18 are grieving the death loss of a parent.

1.5 million children in the US are grieving the loss of a parent to incarceration, sometimes for the duration of their childhood.

Community awareness and support help children heal from loss and excel in life.

Start a Support Group

The loss of a loved one is a universal human experience. How thoughts and feelings about the loss are expressed vary by culture. We encourage you to adapt information in this site to what fits for your beliefs and customs.

via childgrief.org

Ron Huxley Resources: I am preparing for some presentations to professionals who work with adoptive families and reminded about one of the most basic of all clinical tools: grief work. One of the most common assumptions is that children grieve in the same was as adults and therefore, the same tools work for them that work for big people. Each intervention should have individualized criteria built into them. Do you know of a child that has suffered a loss? What worked for them to help them cope and heal? Share with us on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/parentingtoolbox or leave a comment below.

The best and worst things to say to someone who is grieving.

The Best Things to Say to Someone in Grief

1. I am so sorry for your loss. 2. I wish I had the right words, just know I care. 3. I don’t know how you feel, but I am here to help in anyway I can. 4. You and your loved one will be in my thoughts and prayers. 5. My favorite memory of your loved one is… 6. I am always just a phone call away 7. Give a hug instead of saying something 8. We all need help at times like this, I am here for you 9. I am usually up early or late, if you need anything 10. Saying nothing, just be with the person

The Worst Things to Say to Someone in Grief

1. At least she lived a long life, many people die young 2. He is in a better place 3. She brought this on herself 4. There is a reason for everything 5. Aren’t you over him yet, he has been dead for awhile now 6. You can have another child still 7. She was such a good person God wanted her to be with him 8. I know how you feel 9. She did what she came here to do and it was her time to go 10. Be strong

Talking to someone about the death of a loved one can be a touchy subject, especially if you cannot find the right words to say. No one wants to have this conversation with another person, especially a child, but when the time comes that you must, remember these tips.

#words for loss #what to say #what not to say #words for grief #think before you speak

When a child experiences the death of a parent, the emotional trauma can be devastating. But until recently, few studies have examined the impact of this type

This website provides information from a study conducted that shows the effects of losing a parent on a child. It also provides information on therapy, as well as methods for coping with the loss.

#loss of a parent #loss of a loved one #coping strategies #coping for children #death in the family #death of a parent #finding peace

keepthepositivityflowing-blog

Parents

Going through life with both of your parents is like climbing a mountain with all four limbs; your mom being one arm and one leg, your dad being the other arm and leg. Losing a parent leaves you with only an arm and a leg for the rest of your climb. Life is just that much harder; you only have so much support to finish climbing the mountain.

As life goes on, you meet new people who then act as your prosthetic limbs, but you’re never really the same. You’ll always be weaker than you used to be and you’ll move more slowly, and with less enthusiasm.

But life goes on, and you move on. You adjust and learn how to live without your support.

supportingthosedealingwithg-blog

It is difficult to express our feelings sometimes, but this analogy seems to sum up exactly what it feels like to continue on living after the loss of a parent.

#loss of a parent #support #adjusting after a loss

Death can leave children scared and scarred. But with support of family, friends and community, they can survive and thrive, learning a resiliency they never knew they had.

Jacquine Goets Bluethmann

This website explains what a child goes through after the loss of a loved one. It goes into detail about troubles they experience later on in life both in school and in general.

#loss of a loved one #coping for children #effects of death #suffering #symptoms

Siblings provide each other with friendship and opportunities to learn how to interact with others. They may also be a source of frustration. Though sibling relationships are complicated, losing a ...

This website details how a child is impacted upon the loss of a sibling, specifically psychologically. It explains how these children typically feel about their situation, and how others should react to it.

#loss of a sibling #psychological effects of loss #effects of loss on children #losing a sibling #hard times #support for children

Young children need help and support to understand death and other losses. Helping a young child deal with loss and grief is one of the...

This article is really good for helping explain to care givers what to keep in mind when dealing with a child of all ages that has lost a loved one.

#loss #death

A New Zealand picture book for younger children (4–8 years) who have a family member with a serious illness. Author Sue Garden-Bachop, a mother of three, wrote this colourful and engaging book after she was diagnosed with leukaemia. She wanted a book about her kind of situation to use with her own children, but not finding what she needed, she wrote a story herself. Illustrated in full colour throughout, it is informative without ever being heavy, and it particularly highlights some of the worries a child in this situation may have. With its gentle humour, this story will appeal to young children but will also be enjoyed by any older siblings listening in.

http://skylight.org.nz/Who+Will+Tuck+Me+In%3F

#death #children's literature #death in the family #death of a parent #death of a loved one

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