Kid Talk Flipbook For Review 05.10

Is My Child’s Grief Normal?
By Mel Erickson
Grief and mourning are our God-given healing responses to separation and loss.
Therefore, the gamut of feelings and expressions of grief are necessary to the healing
process. Each child’s grief is unique to his or her personality, developmental stage, family
dynamics and environmental stressors. (Just like adults. Yet, children grieve differently
than adults do.) Let’s look at some broad strokes of what you might see in a grieving child:
Regression
Changes in eating and sleeping pattern
Insecure or clingy
Nightmares
Difficulty concentrating
Afraid to be alone
Afraid of the dark
Cries more often
Headaches or stomachaches
Hyperactivity
Preoccupied with death and/or health
Speaks of decedent in present tense
Lack of emotions
Withdraws from friends
Takes on role of decedent
Acting out or sassy
Suicidal thoughts
Angry towards parents or siblings
Noncompliance
Discipline problem in school
Guilt about words or actions
It is important to notice the changes in a child and how long these changes persist. Note
for example, a lot of a child’s grief symptoms may mirror ADD and ADHD behaviors.
Patient observation is needed as well as caring adult support.
Children are resilient and can handle almost anything as long as it is the truth and they
are supported in love with lots of listening and comforting touch. Truth telling builds a
foundation of trust which is desirable to have as the teen years arrive.
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