Childhood Grief
May is mental health awareness month. This month, we are revisiting past episodes on pediatric mental health.
In this episode, we are joined by Emily McDaniel — a certified child life specialist at UC Davis Children’s Hospital —in the discussion of grief after the death of a loved one. While death may be a difficult concept to talk about with children, it is important to consider the developmental stage of your child and to make sure you have the support of a partner in the discussion. It is important to be open with your child and reassure them that it is okay to be emotional during this time. We share some tips on how you can prepare your child for what to expect after a death, help your child memorialize their loved ones, and signs to look out for that may mean they need extra support from professionals. Be sure to tune in to learn about grief and how to help your children through the process.
This episode was written by Emily McDaniel, Dr. Dean Blumberg, Dr. Lena van der List & Abby Michalak.
We thank Emily McDaniel, MA, CCLS, RWWP, Child Life Specialist at the UC Davis Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department, for joining us for this episode, although Drs. Dean and Lena take full responsibility for any errors or misinformation.
Supplemental Information:
- UC Davis Children’s Hospital Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Bereavement Resources
- UC Davis Children’s Hospital booklet Supporting Children Through Grief and Loss
- Healthy Children How Children Understand Death & What You Should Say
- Healthy Children Five Ways to Help Your Child Remember and Celebrate Loved Ones
- Healthy Children Childhood Grief: When to Seek Additional Help
- The Dougy Center Grief Resources & Toolkits
- The National Alliance for Children’s Grief
Photo from Healthy Children
