ACTIVITIES TO HELP CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH BEREAVEMENT

Depending on the age and learning capability of the bereaved child or young person, here are some activities that can help them cope with their bereavement and enable them to progress through their grief.

Creative Activities

• Writing a letter or poem to the person who has died explaining how the child / young person feels and what they miss most about them.
• Painting or creating a collage from photographs and favourite things of the person who has died.
• Making a memory box which can hold letters, e-mails, shells, jewellery, etc from the person who has died.
• Keeping a diary or journal to capture how they are feeling as they grieve.
• Planting a special tree or shrub in memory of the person who has died.
• Producing a puppet show where the characters can act out the feelings the bereaved child or young person is experiencing.
• Making a list of all the people who love and care for them and pinning it some where that is always visible to the child or young person.

Outdoor Activities

• Taking the child or young person to the place where they and the person who has died spent happy times together.
• Kite flying on a breezy day.
• Taking flowers, pictures, letters, etc to put on the grave. Allowing the child / young person some private time to talk to the person who has died on their own.
• Taking part in a sponsored event to raise awareness for charities that supported the person who has died in life or whom they supported.
•  Visiting relatives and friends.

Remembrance Activities

• Lighting a candle on special anniversaries related to the person who has died.
• Having a memorial bench or plaque made for personal or public use.
• Holding a memorial celebration party on the birthday of the person who has died.
• Attending events that were significant to the person who has died, e.g. Remembrance Sunday events if the person who has died was of the military.

All of these activities shouldn’t be undertaken without the prior agreed participation of the bereaved child or young person. If the bereaved child or young person does not feel ready to participate then the activity should wait until they are. The activities described should serve to enable the bereaved child or young person to progress through their grief. If however, their grief is too painful at present, avoid putting them under unnecessary pressure by suggesting activities that they cannot yet face.

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