Today, Maggie, Taylor Anne, and I went for a morning walk with our dogs. We wound up in this little park off of Shoal Creek across from Saint Andrews. While letting the dogs run around like little kids on a sunny day, we ran into a group of young preschool/kindergarten age children. The kids, with pure, simple excitement and joy, ran over and asked if they could pet the dogs. I was awed by how sweet and gentle the children—boys and girls—were when touching our dogs Lady, Bodhi, and Rascal. The children were then eager to share stories of their own pets and families. Their kind nature and giving hearts were inspiring.
I couldn’t help but reflect back to a TV special I watched yesterday in one of my classes called When Families Grieve. The program was an hour long special put on by Sesame Street with Katie Couric as the host. Together, Katie and Elmo talked about what it’s like for families to lose a loved one and how to help children grieve. The special followed five families (one of them being Elmo’s) along their grief journey, all who had lost a parent and had young children coping with the loss.
Watching the children this morning playing and laughing at the park made my heart break a little to think of the children around their age I saw talking about losing their mother or father yesterday in the film. Yet, it’s not as uncommon as one might think. One in twenty children under the age of fifteen will experience the death of a parent. Still, sometimes children feel alone, like they are the only one who has lost someone.
Death is an issue we all struggle with. I find it difficult to wrap my own my mind around it, and I can’t imagine how a child could. Yet, it is essential to be honest and then supportive with children in a developmentally appropriate way. Children are smart, emotional, and resilient. There are so many resources to help educate parents and children about the grief process….This special gives some wonderful tips and examples about how to discuss death with children. There is even a website, When Families Grieve, that families can visit to learn the best way to remember their deceased loved ones, yet also learn how to live again.
Katie Couric put it perfectly: The death of parent is one of the most traumatic and challenging situations a child can face. But with the love of family and the help of friends, you can begin to chase those clouds away.
Wonders & Worries is a local nonprofit organization that works with children who have a parent or caregiver suffering from a severe illness or who has passed away. On their website, they have all kinds of information about developmentally appropriate ways to assist children of all ages as they grieve.
Ok, I need to remember not to read blogs like this at work – I’m a sobbing fool right now – blaming it on allergies!
Great blog!!
When I watched the whole show I was a sobbing fool, too! The whole class was!!!
THank you for this entry. My dad died when I was 7 and it was the issue that brought me to social work. This is still a practice option that interests me, but I think that I am still processing things too much to be completely present in it.
I’d like to see what Elmo has to say!
I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my father, too, but not until after I became interested in social work. I’m not sure if it makes me more or less interested in grief work…. We should ask Elmo about that as well. What areas of social work are you most interested in ?