Children and Grief
As children are not adults they have not developed coping mechanisms that we may have. For example children do not feel continual and intense emotional and behavioral grief reactions.
A bereaved child may display only momentary spasmodic grief. However the grieving process may take much longer to be worked through with significant life events bringing grief issues to the surface.
Just as an adults grief will be affected by various life factors the same is true for children - their age, developmental stage and closeness to the mesothelioma sufferer will have an imoact on how grief is handled.
More uniquely for children is that they are dependent on others to help them interpret the events around them and so how others handle and communicate these events to them will have a significant impact.
The child may also need to communicate their feelings which they may find difficult if 'grown ups' are dealing with their own grief issues such as anger.
The developmental stage of a child may mean that the emotions appear inconsistent (continually moving from sad to playful and back again). The actions of a child though can say more about how they truly feel as they may not have reached a point in their lives where they verbally express their emotions. Children can also 'put away' feelings that they cannot handle but they remain and can reappear often - so making the grieving process longer.
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