Toolkit with Report Form - Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic ...

Section five
Children and Death
When children are the survivors, it is
necessary to factor in their developmental
age, as it will impact how they understand
death, and it suggests how death is best
explained to them. Sudden loss can impact
their development. Intervention strategies
with children change across the stages of
development continuum. Professionals who
work with children can be an important
resource when there are child survivors.
Immediate family members should be
consulted and participate in every decision
to be made with respect to surviving
children. Similar considerations will apply
for those children who may have been
witnesses to the event or knew the victim(s)
on some other level. The chart below details
a child’s developmental stages of the
understanding of death.
Developmental Stages of the Understanding of Death
(Hospice Support Care Inc.)
page 34
When Crisis Strikes | Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence | 2012