Advice Archives

Parent using tablet device with child with SEND.

How to tell a child with special educational needs and disabilities that someone has died

29th October 2020 Advice

Telling a child or young person that someone close to them has died is one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do. It’s natural to want to protect them from any pain and when your child has special educational needs or disabilities you may wonder whether ...

Preparing children for the death of a parent

How to prepare children for the death of a parent

29th September 2020 Advice

Preparing children for the death of a parent is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Whether this is from a long-term illness, like cancer or MS, or a more sudden circumstance, such as an accident or stroke, this is a heartbreakingly sad situation for the whole family. There is no right ...

How to support a teenager who is grieving

12th August 2020 Advice

The death of a parent, sibling or other loved one is a devastating experience for any young person and often adults don’t know what to say or how to support them, especially if they are a teenager. Teenage years are a challenging time, full of hormonal changes, working out who ...

Are my children too young to know about a death

Are my children too young to know how their parent or sibling died?

30th July 2020 Advice

It is a natural instinct to want to shield children from further pain when someone important has died and you may feel that your children are too young to be told how they died, especially if the death was sudden or violent, for example through suicide or homicide. However, from experience ...

Teenage girl looking at her phone and looking sad

Feelings and thoughts following a death by suicide

24th July 2020 Advice

When someone dies by suicide, children and adults may experience a number of complicated and often conflicting emotions that can feel difficult to manage. You may feel angry at the person who died at the same time as feelings protective and loving. You may feel sadness and pain as well ...

How to explain an accidental death to a child or young person

21st July 2020 Advice

Deaths caused by an accident can be difficult to understand because they are so sudden and you may not know how or why it has happened. Telling a child or young person that someone has died is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do and can ...

Explaining homicide to children and young people

16th July 2020 Advice

Telling a child or young person that their important person has died is difficult enough, let alone telling them their loved one has been murdered. It can be tempting to shield them from the details of a violent death; however, police and media involvement means that the details will quickly ...

How to support very young children after the death of a parent or sibling

6th July 2020 Advice

The death of a parent or sibling is a devastating experience for any child and often adults don’t know what to say or how to support them. If your child is under five then this can be even more difficult because they might not understand what has happened or be ...

What to do when there is a death in your school

11th June 2020 Advice

On average, 1 in every 29 children will be bereaved of a parent, and even more will experience the death of a family member, close friend, or even the death of a member of school staff or a student. That’s one student in every class who has been bereaved. School provides ...

Man holding the hand of his daughter while they talk

Should I tell my child their important person died by suicide?

19th May 2020 Advice

It is natural for a parent or carer to want to protect their child from pain after the death of an important person, especially a death by suicide. You may be tempted to tell your children that the death was an accident but, from our experience, it is better to ...

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