How To Handle Grief With Preschoolers

Old Firehouse School Chat

Grief is something we don't want to have to talk about with young children, but saying the right thing can make a difference in how children process a sad event. Dorothy talks with Judy Haus and Rachel Turtledove about handling grief with young children, both as parents and as educators. They discuss why it's important to NOT say that someone has "passed away" or "We lost him," and how parents serve as the model for this challenging emotion. For more resources, check out these websites: http://www.thesharingplace.org/images/concepts_of_death.pdf https://shop.artwithheart.org/draw-it-out-p5.aspx http://artwithheart.org/about/media/ https://www.dougy.org/ Some books that were mentioned were: Invisible String by Patrice Karst Lifetimes: The beautiful way to explain death to Children by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen Badger's Parting Gifts by Susan Varley When Dinosaurs Die by Laurie Krasny Brown If Nathan Were Here by Mary Bahr The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst