Dealing with death

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Home : 2004 : January : 4

Dealing with death
By Kathy

I'm so sorry for you and your student! How sad to lose his dad--and in such a tragic way. I think the Teddy Bear idea is a great one--especially for this age group. And I would attend the funeral if you could--that
shows support to the family and means a lot to them.
I would talk to the school counselor and get suggestions on how to deal with this. I had a child (3rd grade) whose dad was in an accident and was killed over the weekend. The school counselor and the vice principal came in and talked with the kids about what had happened. I really appreciated their support as it was really tough

for the kids to handle. I had several parents tell me at conference that their children were worried something might happen to them after this one father died. But you have to face it with them. We were a small community too so all the children would find out anyway--it actually helps to get things out in the open.

Children will deal with grief in various ways. In the case of my little boy he thrived on sticking to the routines even insisting on coming to school the morning after his dad died. It's important to let kids talk and grieve as they need to and to talk with the other children about ways they can be supportive without intruding. (A difficult task even for adults!)

My prayers will be with you as you deal with this situation. It's a tough one.