Helping Children Through Grief and Loss

Supporting a child through grief can feel overwhelming. You may find yourself wondering what to say, what not to say, what is “normal”, and how best to help when you are possibly grieving too.

Helping Children Through Grief and Loss has been created by Social Worker Deb Field to offer caregivers gentle, practical guidance as they walk alongside a child experiencing loss.

Children experience and express grief differently from adults. This 18-page downloadable guide helps caregivers better understand those differences while offering practical ways to support connection, emotional safety, expression and remembrance.

Inside you'll find support around:

• Understanding how children experience and express grief
• How grief can look at different developmental stages
• Talking honestly and safely with children about death and loss
• Helpful things to say — and phrases that may be less helpful
• Supporting children to express grief through play, creativity and memory activities
• Responding to big feelings and supporting emotional regulation
• Preparing children for funerals and other formal goodbyes
• Understanding traumatic grief
• Maintaining connection and memories after someone has died
• Caring for yourself while supporting a grieving child
• Recognising when a child may benefit from additional professional support
• Gentle reflection prompts and practical activities to use along the way

At the heart of this guide is one simple message:

Healing does not mean forgetting.

Children don't need us to remove their grief or have all the right answers. They need safe, caring adults willing to stay alongside them as they learn to carry their loss while continuing to live, grow and connect.