Navigating Childhood Grief: Supporting Children After the Loss of a Loved One

Abstract

Children express grief in their way, and parents should understand normal childhood responses to death. We need to examine their personality and behavior at their developmental age. Death pauses mixed reactions in children because they do not understand what death is, making them worry and anxious. Children need assurance of love, affection, and care after losing their loved ones. We can foster resilience by filling the shoes of their loved ones and making them feel special. At the age of 5, I lost my aunt. We had a solid relationship, and she could come over every holiday to visit us. She was friendly and tolerant, and I enjoyed everything about her. Some morning, my parents told me I wasn't going to school, and we had to go and bury our aunt because she was going to heaven, and we were never going to see her again. My aunt had promised to buy me a bicycle, and it was all I was waiting for. I was confused since I never again got closure about what happened. I could see people crying in pain. The horrific burial scene was terrific; after that, I spent most time contemplating what had happened. I was sad and angry. I dropped in school. I was not assured of anything; days passed, and I could not see my aunt. I did not talk out, and my emotions were intuitive. I was numb, and I started having feelings of fearing death. Research shows that children experience trauma while grieving. Irene et al. give a framework for traumatic grief in children, with gender, ethnicity, and age as predictors of traumatic grief. Complicated grief emanates from violent death. I uphold these factors as significant determinants of how children grieve. Boys and girls have different grieving styles. Girls tend to lean...