RECOGNISING GRIEF IN CHILDREN
Like adults, children need to grieve in a variety of ways but how a child copes with the death of someone close to them depends on many factors including:
- Their age, stage of development and understanding of death
- Their relationship with the person who has died
- The circumstances of the death
- How the whole family has reacted and been affected by the death
- The family culture and beliefs
The most usual responses are:
- Asking many questions in order to understand their loss
- Searching for the person who has died
- Crying/expressing anxiety or being extra “clingy” with other family members
- Lack of concentration
- Refusing to go to school
- Regression to an earlier age
- Role–playing the dead person and taking on their role, eg. taking on a caring role if the parent has died
- Denial of grief – usually to protect the adults
- Anger and guilt
- Sadness/depression
Isolating themselves from friends on finding it easier to talk to their peers rather than other members of the family
- Overeating or loss of appetite
- Physical symptoms eg. tummy ache/headache
- Vivid dreams or nightmares
- Phobias about doctors and hospitals
- Difficulty sleeping
- Questioning their own identity
- School work may be affected by under-achieving or over-working
- Self harm, although this is more common with teenagers rather than young children
- Some may adopt bullying behaviour as a protest against their painful emotions
If you would like to discuss any of the topics mentioned in these pages, please feel free to contact us. |
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