The loss of an adult can affect personality development, a sense of security, and relationships with the surviving parent and significant others. Loss of a parent at an early age has been shown to lead to long-term psychological damage. After a death, many children want to share their story. They may want to tell you what happened, where they were, when they were told about the death, and what it was like for them.

Telling their story is a healing experience one of the best ways adults can help young grievers is to listen to their stories.Keeping communications open with children and young people can be the greatest challenge for a grieving caregiver. Children may not necessarily wish to talk but they need to be able to express their grief and sadness.

Below are some practical suggestions to help you with this.When an important family member dies, the whole family can feel fractured and incomplete. It’s quite natural to want to withdraw for a while and it is at this time that children can feel lonely and disconnected from their grieving parent. It’s important that your child is able to still feel connected to the parent who has died and to you.