How Grief Affects Young People

 

Grief hits young people particularly hard. There’s a sense of being invincible when you’re young. When you find out that’s not the reality, it can be very disturbing. Young people don’t know how to regulate their emotions, when something bad happens, it can completely overwhelm them.  

 

The way the young person reacts depends on their exact age, and their relationship to the deceased. If they were very close to the deceased, going about their day to day to life will feel more difficult. However, grief is not something that people can avoid. When death strikes, it comes for all of us. Trying to live your life as though death is impossible won’t work. ‘ 

 

Children often have exaggerated emotions. So, they may throw a screaming tantrum. Or, they may swing to the other end and act as though they are compltely unaffected. They haven’t learned the adult skill of managing their emotions in public. In addition, they may have a child’s understanding of what death means. Very young children may not understand the full significance.  

 

Because you can’t plan how the child will react, there isn’t a lot that you can do in advance to prepare them. You need to be direct and blunt. Your first instinct may be to try and hide what happened. After all, explaining death to a child isn’t easy. However, it won’t help to delay the inevitable.  

 

One measure that you can take is to make your explanation in private. Try to be alone with the child. That way, they won’t feel judged or monitored in their reactions. They can react naturally without fear.  

 

If the child is very upset, you can set up a counseling appointment. Professionals know how to relate to children in a way that untrained people can not. You have your grief to deal with. It’s hard to manage someone else’s as well, even if that person is your child.  

 

You can also team up with another family member. There may be someone who your child trusts. This person can help break the news. 

 

An older child or teen is even more unpredictable. On the one hand, you expect a teenager to behave somewhat appropriately. On the other hand, if the teen was close to the deceased, they may take the passing very hard. Grief can cause a good child to start acting out. It’s only natural. However, you can’t let the teen ruin their life. That’s why counseling is a good idea. A professional can help smooth the transition back into everyday life.  

 

The team at Falk Funeral Homes & Crematory, conveniently located at 163 Main St, Pennsburg, PA, 18073, can take care of your need for funeral homes Pennsburg, PA. Please call us at (215) 679-5933. Our staff is ready to help.