BRIEF SUMMARY
Grief may not feel normal but it is. Everyone will grieve in their own way. When a child grieves, you might not even realize that they’re grieving. Kids process and display complex emotions differently than adults. However, that doesn’t mean the grief is not happening and that a child isn’t affected by their emotions. Children aren’t too young to grieve.
See also Death/Dying.
KEY POINTS
- No bereaved child or young person will respond to the death of someone close in the same way.
- Allow the bereaved child or young person to say how they feel and do not be offended if they are angry with you or do not want to talk.
- Give the bereaved child or young person the time to explore their grief and support them as they mourn.
SHARED WISDOM
- Question: I am looking for a good resource to use in processing with a student whose father passed away unexpectedly. She is almost 15 years old, but is in our life skills program and functions around a preschool level. She has limited verbal communication.
- Responses:
- I would recommend reaching out to Brooke’s Place. They may have some tips or help to support your student. Here is a link to their website that has some of their resources. https://www.brookesplace.org/
index.php/about-brooke-s- place/brooke-s-place-resources - Contact hospice groups. They have materials for young children to help them understand death.
- Coalition for Support Grieving Students.
- Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children is a simple book for young children. I have used this book on many occasions to explain the cycle of life when a loved one has died.   Another book I have recently been using with children is The Invisible String which helps children understand how we are always connected to those we have loved and have died.
- I like Grief is a snowflake by Julia Cook.  I’ve had students create snowflakes or continue working on a grief/memory book.  Depending on her developmental level. I also you the grief book done by Sesame Street.
- Question: Does anyone have any good resources that they use for staff and students when they have lost a student? (from Counselor Talk, November 2018)
- Response: Coalition to Support Grieving Students https://grievingstudents.org/
- From Counselor Talk:
- Q: What is a good book recommendation for an adolescent who lost a brother? A: Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens by Alan Wolfelt.
- A: Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas by Alan Wolfelt has great ideas.
He also has a great book (includes all age levels) which is good for counselors and also to loan out to parents: Finding the Words: How to Talk with Children and Teens about Death, Suicide, Homicide, Funerals, Cremation, and other End-of-Life Matters. His website is: https://www.centerforloss.com
- www.willowgreen.com has excellent materials for adults experiencing grief. (and the author/photographer lives in Fort Wayne!) Counselortalk, March 2018
RESOURCES
- Template letterÂ
- Advice-on-loss-of-a-student
- http://ryansplace.org/
- http://www.brookesplace.org/
- Grief Curriculum
- Brooke’s Place (Indianapolis)
- Students Managing Grief from the Center for School, College and Career Resources
- The Data Behind Grief from the Center for School, College and Career Resources
- Mental Health Resources For Students from the Center for School, College and Career Resources
- a Suicide Toolkit for Schools
- Coalition to Support Grieving ChildrenÂ
- Small Group lessons for Grief/Loss – Middle School
- Small Group lessons for Grief/Loss – High School
- Talking with Children About Tragic Events
- The Dougy Center
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This post was created by EFGH ContentManager on August 7, 2016.