Birthing is a topic we all want to weigh in on, but death? Not so much. We tend to avoid the subject, and when it comes to talking to our child about death, choosing the right words is hard. Of course, there’s no “right” way to talk about death except to lead with honesty and love.
Jessica Rolph, your host, welcomes Michele Benyo to the show. She is the founder of Good Grief Parenting. Michele came to this work in the wake of losing her child 20 years ago and helping his sibling through the grief. Today, Jessica and Michele discuss how parents can support their children through the death of a pet or loved one.
Highlights:
[1:26] What do parents need to know about how children grieve?
[3:13] How can parents help a grieving child?
[4:30] Michele gives examples of some mistakes parents make when discussing death with children.
[6:53] How can parents begin to use direct language to talk about death with their children?
[9:19] How does grief manifest through play?
[11:41] A question from the Lovevery community: “How do you answer: Are Grandma and Grandpa going to die? Followed by, Are you and Daddy going to die?”
[13:52] When do children start to understand death?
[15:27] How can we prepare our children for the death of someone who is close to death?
[17:10] Another question from a listener: “How do I incorporate family members who died into my son’s life at 7 months old? How do I explain to him that they’re no longer here, but they love him very much?”
[20:11] Ways to approach the death of a pet.
[22:47] How should we prepare children for a funeral?
[25:08] Jessica shares her takeaways from the conversation with Michele Benyo.
Mentioned in this episode:
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