bereaved families

We hope that the information we give will support you, your family and friends after the death of a loved one. Everything in this section of our website is based on our own experience of working with bereaved children, young people and their families – but above all, reflects all that we have learned from those bereaved.

After the death of a loved one, adults around them are concerned about how to tell a child what has happened, what to expect of their child and how to support them at a time when they are also grieving. Grief is a normal response to a death and although it changes life for ever, most people are able to move forward with their lives whilst also remembering the person who has died.

Not all bereaved children will need specialist help. What they do need is the understanding and support of the adults around them. In many ways this support is similar to that which you would extend to any vulnerable child or young person, but it may also help to bear in mind the following tips when you are helping a bereaved child who is learning to live in a world in which someone they love has died.