When children are growing up unfortunately they are likely to have a loss in the family at some point, it could be a family member, a beloved pet or even a friend. With this in mind it is a great idea to make sure you know how to help your child cope as best as possible and process the information so they can grieve if they want to and understand what has happened. Children are very innocent; they will not always understand what death is so they will need help to understand it and process it.
If you have experienced a loss or you are just looking to prepare should there be one in the future then hopefully, these few tips on how you can help your children cope with a loss will help you understand it more and help you should you need it.
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Make sure you are ready to discuss it
One thing that a lot of parents may not do is come to terms with the loss themselves. If you have not come to terms with it at least a bit then it can be harder to convey things to your children. You need to make sure also that you have cleaned up any loose ends, for example if it was a wrongful death then finding skilled wrongful death lawyers at your service in the area would be a good place to start so you have everything in order before having to sit down and explain what has happened to your children.
Make sure your children understand death is permanent
Some children do not understand that death is a permanent thing, they could have questions like when is Dad coming back or something like that. Some parents try to be gentle in their approach to having the discussion with their children using phrases such as went to sleep or passed away, these can be confusing to children and make them think it is not a permanent thing. Although it seems blunt and harsher using terms such as dead or died will help them to understand that it is not a temporary thing.
Discuss the death with your children where you can
Children are naturally curious and will ask questions when it comes to a death or someone not being there. Make sure you explain what happened where you can to settle that curiosity, these questions are why it is important you are ready to discuss it as it can be hard to discuss it properly if you personally are not ready. Make sure when you are answering any questions that you try to answer as simply as possible and be as direct as possible and not beat around the bush. Make sure you help them to understand that death is a natural occurrence in life and comfort them in this as they may be unsure or scared about it, try to help them understand if you can.
If there has been a loss in your family or maybe you just want to prepare for something happening in the future, these tips should hopefully help you get started in the process of helping your children understand it better and cope with the loss.