Family support Archives

Man holding the hand of his daughter while they talk

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

30th June 2025 Advice

It is natural for parents, carers, and supportive adults to want to protect children from pain after the death of an important person, especially a death by suicide. You may be tempted to tell the child that the death was an accident but, from our experience, it is helpful to try ...

How to support a teenager who is grieving

30th June 2025 Advice

The death of a parent, sibling or other important person is a devastating experience for any young person and often adults don’t know what to say or how to support them. Teenage years are a challenging time, full of hormonal changes, working out who you are, building independence, testing boundaries ...

Dad using laptop with son watching on and daughter using tablet device.

Do children grieve differently to adults?

30th June 2025 Advice

Although they will feel it just as deeply, children will experience and express grief in different ways to adults. The way children grieve will mostly depend on their age and understanding of death as well as their ability to talk about their thoughts and feelings. This can often make their reactions ...

Should children view the body of a loved one?

30th June 2025 Advice

The decision to view the body of a loved one who has died is a very personal choice for adults, and it is the same for children. The important thing is that a child or young person is given the choice and that this is an informed choice – they ...

Parent sitting and talking to young teenage child

Talking to children about a new relationship after the death of a parent

2nd June 2025 Advice

As a widowed parent, there may come a time when you find a new partner and want to introduce them to your children. This is a daunting situation for everyone involved – you, your children and your new partner. Your children will probably feel lots of complicated emotions, including fear, ...

How to tell children and young people that someone is seriously ill

1st June 2025 Advice

Whether someone in your family has cancer, heart disease or another serious illness, telling a child or young person that someone they love is seriously ill is one of the most difficult conversations you will face. You may feel that you are protecting them by not telling them but, based on ...

When should children return to school after a bereavement?

29th April 2025 Advice

A question we are often asked following the death of a parent, sibling, or other important person, is “should my child go back to school yet?” There are many things to consider when deciding when your child should return to school after a bereavement, including how your child feels about school, ...

White mum using smartphone with daughter at home.

How to help bereaved children understand grief

28th April 2025 Advice

Often, people will talk about the ‘different stages of grief,’ suggesting that everyone’s grief follows the same path through the stages of grief and that their grief will get smaller over time. We know from our experience that it’s not that simple and we prefer to look at it another ...

Hands holding a polaroid photo of a child with their dad

How to use a memory box with bereaved children and young people

28th March 2025 Advice

One of the things that is most important to the young people we work with is staying connected to the memories of the person who died. Many young people worry that memories will be forgotten, or don’t know how to begin to think about or talk about the person after ...

Telling a child someone has died: Header image featuring a young child looking to parent who is talking to them.

Telling a child someone has died – our support and guidance

28th March 2025 Advice

Telling a child someone has died may be the hardest thing you ever do and often one of the first questions is ‘how much should I tell them?’ It’s normal to worry about making things worse by saying too much or the wrong thing but remember the worst has already ...

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