Journaling to Help Children Cope with Loss

Today, more and more American families are involved in the care of their loved ones. Often, that creates a change in family dynamics, routines, reassigning roles, economic hardships and demands on adult time and emotional stress for all family members involved. The changes taking place can be threatening for children. Change creates loss, and loss creates grief. A grieving child needs reassurance that he or she will be cared for and is loved.

It is extremely important to listen to your child verbalize their fears, anger, confusion and doubts. Grief and the feelings it evokes are natural responses to loss. We must encourage our children to let their sadness out by sharing their thoughts, feelings and memories with trusted listeners. We can be a trusted listener by encouraging them to express themselves by drawing, writing and sharing their feelings and thoughts through the process of keeping a journal.

Long-term illness impacts family life, especially if your loved one is being cared for at home. Illness can be sudden, or it may creep into our loved one’s life in stages such as Alzheimer’s disease. Our loved one may be dealing with the loss of their health, independence and in some cases, ultimately the loss of life. The family will be dealing with these losses as well. The changes associated with the disease are threatening for our loved one, our children and ourselves. Our children need our love and support to help them cope with the grief associated with change and loss. It is important to take the time to discuss the disease with children so they can understand what is happening to their loved one.