National Children's Grief Awareness Week
Children’s Grief Awareness Week was initiated by Grief Encounter and the Childhood Bereavement Network in 2015, as a way to recognise and raise awareness of the bereavement experiences of children and young people.
Aligned with International Children’s Grief Awareness Day, which is always the Thursday before Thanksgiving in the United States, Children’s Grief Awareness Week is a chance for the United Kingdom to be more mindful and aware of the impact bereavement can have on children and young people.
Did you know that it is estimated 46,300 dependent children (aged 0-17) are bereaved of a parent each year? That’s 127 children newly bereaved each day.
Children grieve in different ways and there is no specific model or method that will fit everybody. Listening to the child and encouraging them to talk about their feelings, can not only allow them to express how they feel but allow you to assess how they are coping.
For further guidance on how children grieve differently, supporting a child when their parent dies, and supporting a bereaved autistic child, please watch the following videos from Child Bereavement UK:
Children’s Grief Cycle
An estimated 26,900 parents die each year in the UK leaving dependent children; that’s one parent every 20 minutes.
On Wednesday 20 November at the Princess Of Wales Hospital, Royal Glamorgan Hospital and Prince Charles Hospital, staff will be taking part in our ‘Children’s Grief Cycle’ to recognise that a child every 20 minutes in the UK needs bereavement support.
Staff members will be cycling on static spin bikes in 20 minute intervals and leaflets will be handed out to members of the pubic on what support is available for children within CTMUHB.
If you see a staff member please say hello and encourage them as you go about your day.
Talking to children about grief
Bereaved children can face many challenges, such as coping with the loss of a loved one for the first time, adjusting to a disrupted family dynamic, and learning to cope with grief in unfamiliar settings, such as school.
Children will not only grieve the death of their loved one, but also the changes that the death brought about in their world. An adult cannot protect a child from the pain of loss, although creating a warm, safe and accepting environment will support their grief experience and create the foundation for healing.
If you are interested in furthering your knowledge on how to talk to children about grief, the Winston’s Wish Child bereavement charity podcast explores why it is important for bereaved children to talk about death. Listen here.
In addition:
- It is really important that if a child is asking questions around their grief and loss, that they receive answers that are age appropriate.
- If children are asking about grief, it generally means that they are ready to talk about things that they cannot process, have unanswered questions or they just need clarification on what they have already been told.
- Try not to mask facts with softer words as this can sometimes cause further anxieties, for example ‘Dad went to sleep and didn’t wake up’, this can cause worries around children going to sleep or someone close to them going to sleep, for fear that they won’t wake up either.
Additional support
If this week’s messages have given you further questions, please feel free to contact ctm.bereavementsupport@wales.nhs.uk.
The following organisations can help you in supporting bereaved children, however these are not exclusive and you can find many organisations online that may also provide some good advice.
Winston's Wish - giving hope to grieving children
SUPPORTING BEREAVED CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE - Grief Encounter
18/11/2024