Family support Archives

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 mum, dad, brother or sister 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 ...

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 ...

How to explain suicide to children and young people

12th May 2020 Advice

Telling a child someone they love has died is difficult enough, but explaining that they died by suicide can be even harder. Often adults don’t want to talk about suicide, but we know from our experience that it is better to tell a child or young person the truth in ...

Supporting children and young people after a sudden, violent or traumatic death

11th May 2020 Advice

When someone in your life dies, feelings of grief can be overwhelming. These feelings may be even more difficult to handle if the death is traumatic, sudden or violent. There are many types of traumatic death – it could be through an accident, illness, terrorism, murder, manslaughter or suicide. Is grief after a ...

A calendar page with lots of family entries. Mummy's birthday is circled.

Ways to cope with anniversaries, birthdays and special days when you have been bereaved

6th May 2020 Advice

In the immediate aftermath of the death of someone important you will have many emotions and these can often resurface on special dates such as anniversaries and birthdays. How do you manage those days? Is it ok to remember? Is it ok to avoid remembering on that day? What can ...

Young brother and sister sharing tablet device.

What do children and young people understand about death?

27th April 2020 Advice

How much children understand about death will be different at different ages and stages of development. These are the most common understandings of death by children of different ages but remember that all children are special and unique and therefore, they will respond to and understand death in their own ...

Should children view the body of a loved one?

23rd April 2020 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 ...

Should I tell my children that their loved one is dying?

22nd April 2020 Advice

When a parent, grandparent brother or sister is seriously ill, whether they have cancer or another illness, there may come a point when you know that they may not survive. This will be a dreadful realisation for you to come to terms with, and you will be faced with the ...

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