Dealing with Death
How to help you and how to help you help the little ones cope and understand death.
How To Talk To Kids About Death: Overview
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- Parent Category: Newsflashes
- Category: Newsflash, Dealing with Death
This is an overview from the 2018 talk, "How To Talk with Kids About Death" Park Slope Parents and Green-wood Cemetery co-sponsored.
Presenters:
Amy Cunningham, The Inspired Funeral
Liana Smith-Murphy, Play, Child and Adolescent Therapist at BrooklynPlayTherapy.com
Age appropriate honesty is important. Kids know more than we think they do. If you’re not honest kids can come up with fantasized explanations of death (“I made grandma get sick and die”). Using concrete things like “X has died. Their body is no longer working” (rather than “Nana is ‘sleeping’” which can freak young kids out and lead to, “when is she going to wake up?”). You can also talk about your beliefs: “Our family believes that after someone dies you go to heaven.”
Let kids ask questions. Many adults have issues about talking about death so kids can believe it’s not okay to talk about being sad or the death. Everyone experiences death differently.
Motherless Mother Resources
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- Parent Category: Newsflashes
- Category: Newsflash, Dealing with Death
Motherless Mother Resources
Park Slope Parents has a Motherless Mothers group:
If you are not yet a PSP memer join us here
If you're already a member and would like to be added email
Website Resources
Theimaginarylibrary on Instagram is a 100 day project on grief and loss created by a woman who recently lost her mother.
Modern Loss is new website offering candid content, resources and community on loss and grief.
Articles shared by PSP members:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/
http://therumpus.net/2011/03/dear-sugar-the-rumpus-advice-column-67-the-black-arc-of-it/
https://alovelywoman.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/12-ideas-for-motherless-daughters-on-mothers-day/
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/opinion/sunday/children-dont-always-live.html
Why Grief Is A Series of Contractions and Expansions
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/read-youre-grieving/
http://www.ahaparenting.com/blog/letter-from-your-mother-mothers-day
http://www.scarymommy.com/overcoming-waves-grief-when-youre-motherless-mother/?utm_source=FB
Explaining Death to Children
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Help in explaining death to children.
For more advice and resources, reference our page on Helping Children Deal with the Death of a Loved One.
In this article:
Death of a Pet
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Advice about helping a child deal with the death of a pet. This article contains several different scenarios of what members experienced.
Helping Children Deal with the Death of a Loved One
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Resources and advice from PSP members on helping children cope with the death of a loved one.
For more, reference our page on Explaining Death to Children and PSP member recommendations for Grief Counselors.
How to help a child afraid of death
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Advice from parents about how to talk to children about dying
Reaching "The End"
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
What do you do when your kids figure out that life ends?
Should kids view an open casket?
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Should you let kids view an open casket?
Euthanizing a pet
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Experiences of putting a beloved pet to sleep.
Talking to your kids about a school shooting (UPDATED with more resources)
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death, Support
This was written in response to the school shooting in Connecticut .
Should children go to a funeral?
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
Should children go to a funeral of a loved one?
Meaningful Memorial Gifts
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death, Support, Gifts and Tipping
Ideas for memorial gifts that are more than flowers or a donation.
Support for the Loss of a Partner
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- Parent Category: Values/Religion
- Category: Dealing with Death
PSP members have shared resources and words of solidarity for those going through the death of a life partner.
Resources for Coping with Tragedy
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- Category: Support, Mental Health, Dealing with Death
“The very worst part of grief is that you can't control it. The best we can do is try to let ourselves feel it when it comes. And let it go when we can.” —Grey’s Anatomy.
Below are resources to help children and families cope with traumatic events in the family, community, and world.
Support for the Loss of a Newborn (Perinatal Loss)
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- Parent Category: Support
- Category: Miscarriage, Bereavement & Loss, Dealing with Death
Our PSP members have shared resources to help you manage the pain of losing a newborn.
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