It is Bereaved Children’s Awareness Week, 14-18th November 2022.

Grief can be an incredibly lonely and isolating experience following a profound loss. Children who experience loss have much better outcomes when they are appropriately supported on an ongoing basis. Remember, we don’t get over loss, we learn to live with it and adapt to it. For many of us, grief endures for weeks, months and years after a funeral.

Many adults and children do not need professional support following a significant loss, but they DO need the support of friends, family, school and community on an ongoing basis. If a death is sudden, unexpected or traumatic, extra support may be needed.

• The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network offers a wide-range of information for people supporting children who are grieving. You can access their website here.
• St. Francis Hospice and the Irish Hospice Foundation produced this video which may be helpful to young people grieving, here is the link
• Read how to talk to children about suicide here
• Our own animation, whilst not developed for children, might appeal to children. You can see it on our YouTube channel here.
• Rainbows Ireland offers group bereavement support to children in some localities, more information here.
• Jacinta’s Smile in Ireland offer support to bereaved siblings, learn more here.
• Several of our podcast episodes address Childhood Bereavement and how children can be supported. I have listed them below for your ease, they can all be found on our podcast page here. Childhood & Adolescent Grief is covered in the following episodes of Shapes Of Grief Podcast

Episode 14 – Children and Grief with Donna Shuurman
Episode 33 – Supporting Children with Helen Culhane 
Episode 66 – Children’s Grief with Sarah Ccorbett-Lynch
Episode 69 – Losing her brother and father as a teenager – Meghann Scully
Episode 81 – Childhood bereavement and life after the tsunami – Clemmie Clough