Childhood grief Hanah Cummings PSY-1100 Lifespan Growth & Development Salt Lake Community College

What is grief? Grief The powerful sorrow that an individual feels at the death of another Understanding grief is important because we are living in a time where grief is no longer talked about openly & people are suffering with the feeling that they are alone in this process. Letting children learn how to grieve healthy is important & needed when they reach adulthood.

Differences between adult & childhood grief Children Adults Grief is cyclical and can reoccur with each new stage of development Children will have unacceptable behavior which is them expressing themselves because they don’t know why they are feeling the way they do Better at expressing themselves & what they need Understand that in time things change Have life-experiences Built-in support systems

Main stages of grief Shock and Numbness Acute Grief Denial Shock and Numbness Acute Grief Sadness, anger, depression, guilt or fear Adjustment Acceptance and comes to terms with the death

When will children experience grief? Nagy (1948) Broke this down into 3 stages by age Stage 1 (ages 3-5) Children think that their loved one has just moved away Stage 2 (ages 5-9) Death can be avoided entirely Stage 3 (ages 9-10) Understand that death effects all living things, it’s permanent and inevitable

How Grieving Effects children Be honest with kids about what happened, them then know its ok to talk about it Child may revert back to bed wetting because of stress Child may act out for attention because of a change in their environment Regression

Activities to help children cope with grief They can draw pictures that remind them of their loved ones and keep them in their room, or they can take them up to the gravesite Decorate the grave for holiday’s to keep this person part of your family Group Counseling with other children can help them understand that they are not the only ones going through this Looking at pictures or videos of the loved one

Teaching children how to properly cope with grief is important because Summary Teaching children how to properly cope with grief is important because It’s important so when they come to grieving again in life they will have life experiences to associate it with and if they we’re taught how to do it healthy they can continue to grieve healthy Prolonged stress from emotions can cause problem in childhood, including cognitive impairments, poor regulation of emotions, physical and mental disorders This happens because the child’s brain is so fragile in this stage of life If grief is done in a healthy way they can understand that with time the pain will lessen and they will adjust to a new life If they have a positive influence who they can go to when they experience grief the first time they will understand that there are people to go to the next time They will understand it is healthy to cry and have emotions if you let them as a child

Why I chose this topic I decided to do this topic because I have recently been watching my niece through her grieving process with the death of my daughter. We realized many thing that we should have been open about with her and the way we we’re telling her was confusing her. As she started going through new stages of development she would revert back to her grief and revisit it and show it in a new way each time. Through this we realized how important it is to teach a child how to grieve properly and let them know it was ok to talk about it and want to go visit them at the cemetery. It was okay if she wanted to go and talk to her and draw her pictures. It came back around full force because we didn’t allow her to grieve properly and now that we addressed it she has reached the stage where she understands it’s permanent and it is a natural part of life.

References Moore, Susan M.A. (n.d). Stage of Grief in Children. Retrieved from http://www.californiasids.com/UploadedFiles/ParentVersions/StagesOfGriefInChildre n_E-Pa.pdf Willis, Clarissa (June 2002). The Grieving Process in Children: Strategies for Understanding, Educating, and Reconciling Children’s Perceptions of Death. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1015125422643#page-1 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (July 2013). Fact for Families: Children and Grief. Retrieved from http://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/docs/facts_for_families/08_children_a nd_grief.pdf Staussen-Berger, K. (2010). Invitation to the Life Span