Childhood Grief & Mental Health: Tips On How To Help A Grieving Child
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
This month, we are focusing on how to support children who are experiencing grief. Loss has lasting impacts, specifically mental health, but with support, children can develop resilience and knowledge that can help carry them through life.
Grief can have a lasting impact on a child’s mental health.
With proper support, a child can learn how to cope with loss, develop empathy for others, and build resilience and strength.
Scroll for tips on how to help a grieving child take care of their mental health.
Tip 1: Create A Safe Space
Children need to feel like they have permission to express their emotions. Remember, there is no wrong or right way to grieve. Some children may be vocal, while others process internally. Both are valid. Giving them a space where they can have a creative outlet like art, play, or storytelling can help them process their feelings.
Tip 2: Routines, Structure, Stability
Predictability helps children feel safe. If they feel safe, they will be more likely to process their emotions. Maintaining consistent routines provides security to grieving children during a time where they don’t feel secure. Regular mealtimes, bedtimes, and activities create a form of stability.
Tip 3: Model Healthy Coping Skills
When you are helping yourself, you are also helping them. Showing them your feelings, talking about your emotions, and asking for help are ways to demonstrate healthy coping skills to children. Children learn by example.
Tip 4: Identify when it is time to seek help.
Connecting with a child therapist who specializes in grief can provide tools that can often help the whole family. Some signs that a child might need additional help are: prolonged difficulty sleeping or eating, quitting activities they previously enjoyed, and intense emotions that do not lessen with time.Sometimes grief and mental health require professional support.
Childhood grief can shape a kid’s life for years to come.
Your presence and patience are the greatest gifts you can ever offer a grieving child. Remember, you don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to be someone who is willing to walk side by side with them through this journey with an open heart.
“Grief is like the ocean; It comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”
-Vicki Harrison
