Family support Archives

Are my children too young to know about a death

Are my children too young to know how their parent or sibling died?

30th July 2020 Advice

It is a natural instinct to want to shield children from further pain when someone important has died and you may feel that your children are too young to be told how they died, especially if the death was sudden or violent, for example through suicide or homicide. However, from experience ...

Feelings and thoughts following death by suicide

Feelings and thoughts following a death by suicide

24th July 2020 Advice

When someone dies by suicide, children and adults may experience a number of complicated and often conflicting emotions that can feel difficult to manage. You may feel angry at the person who died at the same time as feelings protective and loving. You may feel sadness and pain as well ...

How to explain an accidental death to a child or young person

21st July 2020 Advice

Deaths caused by an accident can be difficult to understand because they are so sudden and you may not know how or why it has happened. Telling a child or young person that someone has died is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do and can ...

Explaining homicide to children and young people

16th July 2020 Advice

Telling a child or young person that their mum, dad, brother or sister has died is difficult enough, let alone telling them their loved one has been murdered. It can be tempting to shield them from the details of a violent death, however police and media involvement means that the ...

Father’s Day in lockdown: supporting grieving children and young people

4th June 2020 Advice

For children and young people whose dad has died, Father’s Day can be a difficult time when their grief may be heightened and they are constantly reminded that their dad is no longer here. Father’s Day marketing is inescapable and we are constantly reminded on television and social media that we ...

Separation anxiety: How lockdown has affected bereaved children and young people

29th May 2020 Advice

Has your child become more clingy and anxious since going into lockdown? Or are you worried about your child’s separation anxiety resurfacing once they start returning to school and ‘normal life’? Both are perfectly natural and perhaps more likely for and young people who have experienced a bereavement. Our team have ...

Should I tell a child about a death by suicide

Should I tell my child their important person died by suicide?

19th May 2020 Advice

It is natural for a parent or carer to want to protect their child from pain after the death of an important person, especially a death by suicide. You may be tempted to tell your children that the death was an accident but, from our experience, it is better to ...

How to explain suicide to children and young people

12th May 2020 Advice

Telling a child someone they love has died is difficult enough, but explaining that they died by suicide can be even harder. Often adults don’t want to talk about suicide, but we know from our experience that it is better to tell a child or young person the truth in ...

Supporting children and young people after a sudden, violent or traumatic death

11th May 2020 Advice

When someone in your life dies, feelings of grief can be overwhelming. These feelings may be even more difficult to handle if the death is traumatic, sudden or violent. There are many types of traumatic death – it could be through an accident, illness, terrorism, murder, manslaughter or suicide. Is grief after a ...

A calendar page with lots of family entries. Mummy's birthday is circled.

Ways to cope with anniversaries, birthdays and special days when you have been bereaved

6th May 2020 Advice

In the immediate aftermath of the death of someone important you will have many emotions and these can often resurface on special dates such as anniversaries and birthdays. How do you manage those days? Is it ok to remember? Is it ok to avoid remembering on that day? What can ...

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