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After the death of a loved one you may be wondering how and even whether to include your children in the mourning rituals for the person who has died.

After a death, families are faced with lots of difficult choices and decisions at a time when they are at their most vulnerable.

This paper sets out some ideas which may be helpful to those who are providing care and support to the grieving child.

Children’s understanding of the loss of a loved one progresses as they mature, so the nature of a child’s understanding of death and bereavement will be different at different stages of their development.

For many children, the death of a grandparent is their first experience of bereavement. Others may be a bit more prepared having had a family pet or someone else that they know die.

Children grieve just as adults do. Any child old enough to form a relationship will experience some form of grief when a relationship is severed and a loved one dies.

The death of someone important can cause great pain and sadness, whatever the cause of death.

Every family is unique, with its own values, culture, behaviours and traditions. The death of a child, whether as a baby or later in life, impacts on different families in different ways.

Bereavement is a normal part of the life cycle. Losing someone significant will always involve complex feelings and emotions. A sudden and unexpected death can be devastating for children and young people and their families.

This activity helps you think about happy memories while creating something beautiful to help remember your loved one. You can even add objects to the jar that have significant meanings.

Mother’s Day can be a very difficult time for children whose Mum has died. What matters is that they are supported to remember Mum in whatever way feels right for them at this special time.

Father’s Day can be a very difficult time for children whose Dad has died. What matters is that they are supported to remember Dad in whatever way feels right for them at this special time.

As grownups, we all have a role to play in supporting the children in our lives after a ‘news-worthy’ disaster such as a terrorist attack, or natural or man-made disasters.

When we are told that someone significant in our lives is going to die, we can feel very bewildered and distressed. These feelings are called ‘anticipatory grief’. O

In the aftermath of the death of someone close, the sleep patterns of a bereaved child or young person can change significantly. Left unchecked and unsupported, this can be damaging.

The impact of a bereavement affects children in very similar ways to those of adults, but their expressions of grief can be different.

When someone important in a family has died, Christmas can feel very different and it can be hard to manage. Christmas is a very family focused holiday, and after a bereavement, this can highlight the gap in a family even more.

When someone significant dies, especially if that person has had a primary caring role in the child’s life, even very young children will miss them and grieve for their loss.