Table of Contents
- Overview
- Prevention
- Images
Age 6 - 11 years:
- Shows gradual understanding of irreversibility and finality of death
- Demonstrates concrete reasoning with ability to comprehend cause and effect relationship
Age 11 years or older:
- Understands that death is irreversible, universal, and inevitable
- Has abstract and philosophical thinking
Family members should know that showing feelings such as shock, disbelief, guilt, sadness, and anger are not only normal, but helpful. Sharing these feelings and memories of the person who died reduces the child's sense of isolation. Children need lots of reassurance that they will be loved and cared for by a consistent adult. They also must be assured that they did not cause the death, nor could they have prevented it.
Grief is a process that unfolds over time. The initial shock and denial may change into sadness and anger that can last from weeks to months. Some children seem to show no emotional response to death, which can be disconcerting to family members. Some normal behaviors include:
- Shock
- Crying
- Sadness
- Anger
- Guilt
- Increased clinging
- Disobedience
- Lack of interest in school
- Sleep difficulties
- Decreased appetite
- Temporary regression to more childish behavior
- Physical complaints
Signs of a problem or disorder include:
- Long-term denial
- Repeated crying spells
- Disabling depression
- Suicidal thoughts
- Persistent anger
- Persistent unhappiness
- Social withdrawal
- Severe separation anxiety
- Delinquency or promiscuity
- Decline in school performance
- Persistent sleep problems
- Eating disorders
- Long-term avoidance of feelings
Take your child to a doctor, mental health specialist, or clergyperson if any of these signs appear or persist.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS ABOUT BEREAVEMENT
- Accident by Carol Carrick (ages 6 - 8)
- Beat the Turtle Drum by Constance C. Greene (ages 10 - 14)
- The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown (ages 3 - 5)
- The Magic Moth by Virginia Lee (ages 10 - 12)
- A Taste of Blackberries by Doris B. Smith (ages 8 - 9)
- When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (ages 4 - 8)
GUIDELINES FOR CAREGIVERS
- How Do We Tell the Children? A Step-by-Step Guide for Helping Children Cope When Someone Dies by Dan Schaefer, Christine Lyons, and David Peretz
- Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen
- Straight Talk About Death with Teenagers by Earl A. Grollman
RELATED TOPICS
Death among children and adolescents Fetal death SIDS
Images
Review Date: 05/02/2011
Reviewed By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of
Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also
reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
