Many times you will need to keep your grieving separate. We had our time to grieve. A friend who lost her son a few months after our son died said, “I go into the shower every morning for 20 minutes, turn on the water as hot as I can, and I wail.” She had no other children at home so this was her time to grieve alone.
My husband and I are early risers so we got up early every morning, sat together and simply cried for three hours. Then our son, Vincent, would get up and go off to high school. Even though we kept our grief separate for these long time periods every morning, I feel that it is very important for your children to see you grieve for their brother or sister that is no longer with you. What it does is it gives them permission to grieve outwardly, too. Too much outward grief on your part will make them feel afraid, but not seeing you grieve at all will raise questions in their mind like, “Why isn’t mom crying?” “I feel so sad.” Your lack of open grief doesn’t allow them to feel like they can grieve openly.
Actually grieving with your children is very important. If you Google “grief books for children”, you will find 25 books to help children grieve. It is very important to get ahold of these books, if your children are of an appropriate age, and sit and read the books with them so that it gives an opportunity for grief to come as you are together.
If your child is silent, it is very important for you to ask him what he is feeling right then, and to get him the help that he needs. Let them know that they are not alone, and tell them that you know other people besides you, as their parent, that can help them through their grief.
If you decide to get someone outside of your family to counsel your child, it is very important for you as the grieving parent to ask the person what their beliefs are. Do they believe there are a certain number of days that we are all supposed to be here, do they believe that we have many opportunities to depart this Earth, was it just good or bad luck or do they believe that it was a matter of faith?
As a parent, you still have the responsibility to teach your children, find them the right resources and sit with them in times of grief.
A memory that you could create with your children is to write a book together. Find someone who has a Mac computer, and you ask them if you can borrow it so you can write a book together with your children about the brother or sister that is gone.
Remember that children are naturally playful, inquisitive, sparkling, blameless and full of wonder. Give them opportunities to go with you and put aside their grief for awhile. You could say something like, “You know what? We’re going to get up today and have a picnic. We’ll go on a nature walk, too.” Just take them to a place in the neighborhood where they can begin to be full of wonder, inquisitive and experience some of those sparkling moments. It doesn’t have to be something that costs a lot of money.
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My daughter Olivia died April 22, 2004 from sudden cardiac arrest. My daughter was on life support for 10 days, and we had to make the decision to let her go. I still live with this decision. Was it right? Was it wrong? My son was 21 when Olivia died and he was home the morning I found her not breathing. I was so consumed with grief that I didn’t see the pain my son was in. My son is now a heroin addict. I feel as though I’ve lost both of my children. My son was in prison for one year, has been home for 2 months and relapsed last week. He is now in a sober living home. My heart hurts for him but there is nothing I can do to save him from this horrible addiction. I am so happy to have found your website and look forward to hearing from other parents in my situation.
Thank you.