Young people and death in the family

Natalia Shipilova and brotherWe have a number of blogs to support children, young people and adults when there’s death in the family.

Death is sad and sorrowful for most of us most of the time. It moves beyond sadness into a spectrum of painful-to-intolerable when we’re talking about young people and death.

Some of our blogs aim to help young people deal with a death or at least be able to ask questions about it and try to understand it.

Others aim to help adults cope with the loss of a child or support parents and carers to be able to talk to young people about death, mortality, loss, grief.

For young people:

  • Ask Amber: a young woman who faced a death aged 17 offers help with Q&As on death
  • Books on death and grief (as recommended by the Children’s Hospice, CHAS, by age group)

Death in the family:

  • Coping with the loss of a child
  • Young people and loss – lots of links and resources to help
  • How to have difficult conversations with children around death, tackling the taboo
  • Books about living with illness, death and loss, life and mortality, rituals
  • Postcards to Josh: how Jane, Jimmy and family continue to celebrate the life of Josh who died in a motorbike accident.
  • Playing a more active role in organising a funeral can be therapeutic, allowing you to create more meaning and involving family in arrangements to normalise the death.  Have a look at our blog on DIY funerals.

For professionals: