Resources
If you want to gain a deeper understanding of childhood grief, there are many resources available. There are also materials that you can share with your child if you believe that would be helpful to him or her. Below, are resources that we have found to be particularly helpful.
Books
For You
Helping Children Cope with Death
Helping Teens Cope with Death
35 Ways to Help a Grieving Child
Published by The Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families. Also available in Spanish.
What Do We Tell the Children? Talking to Kids about Death and Dying
Joseph Primo
In this book, the author shares practical strategies for talking with
children about death that come from his years in leadership roles at
both Good Grief and the National Alliance of Grieving Children.
A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children: Rebuilding Your Family After the Death of a Loved One
Phyllis Silverman and Madelyn Kelly
Published by Oxford University Press. This book leans heavily on Dr.
Silverman’s expertise in the field of childhood grief and bereavement.
For Your Child
When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death
I Miss You: A First Look at Death
Both books explain and normalize experience with grief. They are intended for preschool or early elementary grade children.
For Your Teenager
Teenagers grieve differently than younger children. Carole Geithner is a clinical social worker who specializes in working this population. If Only is a novel written from the perspective of Corinna, a 13 year-old girl coming to terms with the death of her mother.
Online
www.achildingrief.com
AChildInGrief.com was created in partnership by the New York Life
Foundation and The Moyer Foundation. The website provides services
and resources for bereaved children.
www.good-grief.org
Good Grief is a nationally-recognized organization that provides
support to children and teenagers who have lost a family member. Their website
has many useful and practical suggestions.
www.dougy.org
The Dougy Center was founded in 1982. Their website offers resources suited
to grieving children, teens, and young adults.
www.slapd.com
SLAP’D — Surviving Life After a Parent Dies was created several years
ago by 13-year-old Genevieve Liu after the sudden death of her father. The site
offers an online social network for teenagers who have lost a parent.
Bereavement Camps
Like adults, children and teenagers often benefit from knowing that they are not the only ones in the world struggling with loss. Bereavement camps bring children — usually between the ages of 6 and 17 — together to heal and also to have fun.
There are many organizations that sponsor bereavement camps around the United States. The following three have among the largest reach:
For a comprehensive list of bereavement camps in the United States and Canada, visit The Moyer Foundation .
