Children Dealing with Death

Living with Death

Death is a reality that children, like all of us, can learn to live with.

Even before the death of a close family member occurs, parents can begin to introduce the idea of death as a part of everyday life. The nightly news, a trip past the cemetery, or a dead plant or bird may spark conversation about death.

Start early, be honest and encourage children to talk about their feelings regarding death.

Periodic conversations about death are important since understanding death is a gradual process. Children will take in the information as they are ready and increase their understanding as they develop.

Children feel the loss of loved ones just as intensely as adults do, although this grief is often expressed in different ways: through play, art or even acting out.

Children will cope with grief according to the stressors created by their relationship to the person (or animal) who has died.

There are some great books to introduce death to children. Let me show you a few!
I Miss You: A First Look At Death [Paperback] Pat Thomas (Author)

Gentle Willow: A Story for Children About Dying Joyce C. Mills
The Next PlaceWarren Hanson
The Kid's Book About Death and DyingEric Rofes

What On Earth Do You Do When Someone Dies? Trevor Romain

My advise, talk to a child before someone close to them dies...Death is a part of life; every living thing dies--