The Good Grief Trust: Bereavement support and information, as well as virtual support through a ‘virtual café’ via zoom. If you notice that your child is struggling, help them to name their own emotions too, for example:

Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine: Your Activity Book to Help When Someone Has Died (Early Years) excel A memory box is a special place that your child can keep and treasure all kinds of things that can remind them of the person who has died. This might be drawings, photographs or objects. Some very young children may not have many memories so these items can help you talk to them about the person who has died in the future. For example shells from a holiday might be a reminder of happy times spent together.

As a family, grieving can be very difficult and there may be new challenges along the way. As a child grows and develops there will be new questions and things to consider. They will begin to understand more about death and so you can begin to give them more information about the death of their loved one. We need to show young children the difference between dead and alive and using nature can be a useful way to help them understand death. You could encourage your children to look at the differences between dead and alive insects or plants and ask them questions like: Coping with bereavement and Loss is a group sessions that spans half or a full day, it’s a group that is delivered on special occasions such as Christmas time and looks at different ways of coping with the feelings children tell us they experience after a death at these times. Friendship Circle is a group that runs for 7 weeks it is suitable for children age 7-11 and delivered to groups of 6 during the school day. All group members have been identified as having difficulties making and maintaining friendships. Currently on hold due to Covid 19

You look like you are feeling cross, is that right?” Activities to help children express their feelings Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine offers practical and sensitive support for bereaved children. Beautifully illustrated, it suggests a helpful series of activities and exercises accompanied by the friendly characters of Bee and Bear. Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine offers practical and sensitive support for bereaved children. Beautifully illustrated, it suggests a helpful series of activities and exercises accompanied by the friendly characters of Bee and Bear. Losing someone close to us is never easy. But what do we do when someone passes away due to a virus that we don’t really understand? What do we do when we are not able to comfort each other as usual, or even attend funerals to say goodbye?

How to make a referral?

Side by Side is a group that runs for 3-4 weeks. It is suitable for Children/young people aged 6-10 and their families. It is for those having difficulty in family/peer relationships, emotional skills and social skills. It can be used where there has been a significant event such as a bereavement loss or trauma and is based on the five ways to wellbeing. There are separate children, young people and adult groups that run simultaneously, then there is a family session which joins the children, young people and adults together.

All children, even younger children, will experience a range of emotions after the death of a parent or sibling. Children can be encouraged to explore these emotions through play and observing others. Often adults want to protect children by hiding their emotions, however, sometimes showing children how you feel can help them to understand that it is ok to express their own feelings too. We hope that you have found something on this document that has helped. If you have any suggestions for further information, or if you would like to share your own personal experiences with any of the books or resources you use then please do. Additionally, if you want to talk to someone, ask for advice, or have a question we have a number of Facebook groups specifically for parents and for teachers. Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine: Your Activity Book to Help When Someone Has Died (Early Years) full book Cruse Bereavement Care: Resources, information and helpline, supporting people who have been affected by the pandemic especially. We also help the adults who are caring for young grieving people, including parents, school staff and healthcare professionals, through information, resources, training and on-demand services.

We provide a range of group work support which can be;

Girls Talk is a group that runs for 8 weeks it is suitable for children age 9-11 to provide factual information and guidance on issues around growing up. Children learn through play and storytelling so using these tools and activities can really help. Our book Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine has lots of activities you can do with your children to help them cope with their grief – here are a couple of them: Fizzing feelings bottle: The death of a parent or sibling is a devastating experience for any child and often adults don’t know what to say or how to support them. If your child is under five then this can be even more difficult because they might not understand what has happened or be able to express their feelings. The expert team at Winston’s Wish offers their advice on how to tell a very young child that someone has died, how to help them express their feelings and whether they should attend the funeral. Should I tell a young child about the death of a parent or sibling?

reading Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine: Your Activity Book to Help When Someone Has Died (Early Years) Never Too Young To Grieve by Winston’s Wish – our specialise book provides more detailed support and guidance for parents, carers and professionals supporting children under five. A funeral is a time for people to say goodbye when someone has died. The body of the person is put in a coffin, which is something special to carry a body in. People choose music and words that the person would have liked to remember them.” Bounce is a group that runs for 7 weeks it is suitable for children age 7-11 and delivered to groups of 6 during the school day. Bounce is a group for children who have experienced family breakdown; who may be struggling to deal with their parents separating, and therefore loss of a family member (parent, sibling, grandparent, etc). Currently on hold due to Covid 19This simple activity that can help to show young children how feelings can get all mixed up and can be explosive. Shake a bottle of fizzy drink and then take the lid off to show how feelings can burst right out. You could encourage your children to name their own feelings that might be ‘all mixed up’. Then repeat the activity with another bottle, but this time release the lid slowly and show that feelings can also come out in a more managed way. You can talk about the different feelings as they are released. For very young children they might only be able to name very simple feelings such as ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ but this activity can begin to encourage discussion around feelings. Making a memory box: Reboot is a group that runs for 7 weeks it is suitable for children who are experiencing anxiety and helps to learn techniques to cope with these anxieties. Lots of people will be feeling really sad, as they miss Mummy. They might be crying but that is ok. People might also be smiling or laughing when they remember happy times but that is ok too.” If a child is going to attend a funeral, then they need to be prepared for what to expect. So, spend some time talking to them about what they might see or hear, and explain things like a burial or cremation. For example you could say: