In this episode, hosts Odette Mould and Sophia Giblin discuss how parents can meet the needs of bereaved children.

Having boundaries around their physical needs - such as getting a good night’s rest - is important for your child’s development. Parents need to be brave and determined to uphold those boundaries even through grief - particularly around sleep and nutrition. 

As far as mental wellbeing goes, modelling healthy expressions of your feelings is a good way to support and encourage your children. If they see you repressing your emotions and not talking about them, they may adopt that same approach. That might not feel very good for them - they may want to talk about it, but you’re not giving them the opportunity to do so. 

We often feel that, as adults, we have to be in charge all the time, but sometimes it’s better to let children take the lead, and simply create the boundaries in which they play. That’s how we teach them - if they did everything by explicit instruction, they’ll learn how to follow directions rather than how to think for themselves. 

Key Takeaways:

• Parents need to be brave and determined to maintain boundaries with children even through grief.
• Rather than repressing your emotions as a parent, you should communicate your feelings - remember that your child is watching what you do to know what they should do.
• Sometimes we should let kids take the lead, and simply create the boundaries in which they play. 

Resources

• Harry’s Rainbow
• Odette Mould on LinkedIn
• Sophia Giblin on LinkedIn