Helping a Grieving Child

Full description

"Is Grandpa coming back?" "Is it my fault?" "Are you going to die too?" When a death touches the family, children's questions often come at the worst moment, while your own heart is in pieces. Helping a Grieving Child is a 20-page guide for parents and adults supporting a child aged 3 to 12, with activities to do together.

You do not need to have all the answers. You need the right words, and this guide gives them to you.

What you will find inside

• Telling them: the right words to announce a death (simple, true words), what your child understands about death at their age, and confusing phrases to avoid ("he is sleeping", "she went on a trip", "we lost him")
• Supporting them: normal reactions by age (anger, regression, repeated questions, playing "dead"), how to prepare your child for the funeral, how to tell the school or daycare, how to answer their hard questions and why a reassuring routine matters
• 10 activities: to print or do on a tablet with your child: my drawing for you, what I remember, my emotions, the memory box, my letter to you, our good times, our photo, my heart weather and more pages to help them express what they feel without having to say it all in words

Who this guide is for

For parents who need to tell their child about the death of a grandparent, a parent, a brother or sister, a friend or a pet. For grandparents, aunts, uncles and foster families supporting a grieving child. For educators and teachers who want a simple, gentle tool. The guide is written for adults, and the activities are designed for children aged 3 to 12.

How to use it

Read the Telling them section before you talk to your child, even if it is just a few minutes before: you will feel more prepared. Keep the Supporting them section close in the weeks that follow, because children's reactions change over time and sometimes show up months later. Print an activity when your child seems sad, angry or full of questions, and do it together, without pressure. Drawings and letters can then go into the memory box.

What you receive

• 2 PDF files: the English version and the French version (20 pages each)
• Clickable contents and side tabs on every page to jump between sections in one second
• A "Contents" link at the bottom of every page
• US Letter pages (8.5 × 11 in), easy to print at home or at a print shop
• A soft, simple design made for writing with a stylus just like by hand
• Activities you can print as many times as you want, for every child in the family

The journal works with GoodNotes, Notability, Noteshelf, Xodo and most apps that open PDFs, on iPad, Android tablets or a computer. You can also open it on your phone to read your pages. Nothing is shipped: you get your download link by email right after purchase, and your journals stay in your account if you create one.

Good to know

This journal is a writing and reflection tool. It does not replace help from a health or mental health professional. If your grief becomes too heavy, if you can no longer function day to day, or if you have thoughts of hurting yourself, please reach out right away: in Canada and the United States you can call or text 988, day and night. In an emergency, dial 911.

Because this is a digital product, all sales are final. Please read the description carefully before buying, and write to us if you have any question: we are happy to help.