Services at funeral homes Mentor, OH, let you say goodbye. Losing a loved one takes an unprecedented emotional and physical toll on a person. The journey becomes even more difficult for young kids when they lose a parent, sibling, or a beloved friend or family member.
Often, the child tries to hide their feelings which can affect their personal growth in the years to come if not addressed. During such difficult times, the caretakers need to help the child cope with loss healthily and bring them back to normal.
Don’t know how to do that? Check out the below useful tips to make the grieving children express their emotions and inner feelings about sorrow and grief.
1. Address Their Misconceptions
If the caretaker observes any unusual behavior or extreme worries in children, talk to them ASAP and address their queries.
While coping with the loss of a close one, children experience a mix of confused and complicated emotions. They become less communicative, confused, and angry at the same time. The reason is, that they don’t have much knowledge about the realities of life like adults, making it difficult for them to handle and share these emotions.
Make them believe that it’s not their fault the loved one has gone. They are innocent and brave enough to face this situation. Children can’t process such sensitive information in just one conversation. You need to have regular conversations to provide the information slowly. Assure them you’re always available whenever they need you to listen to them.
2. Be Honest with Them
You should not try to protect them by shielding information from them that is necessary to help them understand the hard truths of life. Encourage the grieving child to ask questions and express their feelings. Your supporting behavior will motivate them to open up about their grief and sorrow.
If you avoid talking to them about death, they won’t share their feelings and wear the cloak of silence. As a result, they’ll take longer to get past the loss of a loved one.
3. Avoid Being Over-Protective or Masking the Reality
Adults often try to be overprotective of the children and while trying to do so, they shield valuable information from them. Avoid using euphemistic language around death all the time.
Terms like ‘passed away”, ‘moved to a better place’, etc., and instead use simple, concrete language to apprise them of the realities of the world. Use words like ‘died’, and ‘left us forever, to help them expedite the healing process.
4. Help Them Remember and Honor the Lost Loved One
Remembering loved ones and preserving their memories encourages children to express their emotions. Find ways to honor their memory like planting a tree, throwing a dinner party, or doing charity work, and notice how the child responds to these activities.
Also, you may ask children to draw their sketches, write them letters, or make a memory box.
5. Open Up About Your Own Feelings
You should share your own grief and emotions with the child about the lost loved one. It will make them believe that grief is a natural process and one should talk about emotions and feelings with friends and family.
You can discuss the next steps at funeral homes Mentor, OH. Contact us today.