The loss of a parent is a terrible experience for any child. It can bring up a range of overwhelming emotions to the child such as confusion, deep sadness, shock, anger, anxiety and many more difficult emotions.

Dealing with the loss of an important figure like a parent makes these intense feelings difficult to process.

If you are a close relative, a caregiver or a guardian to children who have just lost their parents, you need to learn ways to help them deal with grief the best way possible.

If you ever find yourself in such a situation, the information shared here can help you assist a child who is dealing with grief after losing a parent.

How to talk about death with a child

Discussing the death of a loved one is overwhelming to anyone and it’s even worse when talking about the loss of a parent to a child. However, avoiding or sugarcoating the whole scenario is even worse.

Thinking that you are protecting the children by not sharing vital information about their dead parents can actually do more harm than good.

They need to know what is going on and to be given time to mourn their parents. To handle the situation in the right way, consider these ideas.

Use appropriate language

You need to be extra cautious when handling children who have just lost their parents. Be very considerate of the words you are going to use because they will remember some of those words even in their adult life.

Besides, due to the mixed reactions they are dealing with at the moment, they can easily get offended by your words.

Be sure to use age-appropriate words as well. How a three-year-old will understand death is different from a 10 years old.

Although words like ‘mummy died’ may look harsh to a child, it’s better to go direct to the point and say things the way they are. The child will continue to understand the words as they get older.

Be honest

Being honest about the nature of death to a child is very important. Be as open as you can but make sure you take into account the child’s age. Keep your explanations appropriate to the child’s age and developmental stage.

Too much details to a younger mind can be overwhelming and confusing. Try as much as you can to keep the information simple, truthful but at the same time brief.

If you choose to hide the truth about the nature of death may be because you think it may be too tough to the child, the child may…
 
Continue reading the article and learn more about death on Mike Myers’ blog.