Supporting Children Who Experiencing Loss or Change in their Lives
At Little Acorns, we endeavour to provide support to families, when dealing with the following experiences during their lives. These are just a few examples,
Emotional Transition/event
- Loss, such as the death of a relative or a family Pet
- Family members going into hospital.
- Birth of sibling in their family, and adapting your parenting
- Family breakdown
- Parents separating or being divorced.
- Dealing with conflict, arguments, and family tensions
- Dealing with depression, anxiety, and mental health needs within the family
- Dealing with the special needs of a child within the family
- Birthday Parties for kids or adults
Physical Transition/event
- Moving to a new house.
- Living outside of their home
Intellectual (Cognitive) Transition/event
- Moving between pre-school, childcare, nursery, and school
- Moving between carers and settings
- Working from home and balancing a family
Physiological Transition/event
- Managing a difficult illness or disability at home
These moments and situations can be difficult for a child to cope with and they may display their emotions in variety of ways. We will work with you to support your child through any difficult times they may encounter.
We are aware that different religious and cultures have differing rituals and attitudes towards death and divorce so we will be guided by parents and family wishes.
We are aware that different religious and cultures have differing rituals and attitudes towards death and divorce so we will be guided by parents and family wishes.
Changes in family circumstances can cause anxiety and insecurity in children as they work hard to make sense of things and we will work together to find resources to support you at home, as well as providing the opportunity for children to share their feelings. An honest dialogue is always helpful, so that we can all work as a team to support the child in the best way possible.
We might support you child by:
We might support you child by:
- Encouraging your child to ask questions and answering them to the best of our ability, honestly and simply, using language and words that are age appropriate.
- Talking with the child about the person/animal who has died and providing a range of ways to remember them.
- Offering to listen to the child, so that they can share thoughts and emotions in a safe and caring environment with familiar and sympathetic adults.
- Observing the child and noting any concerns or changes to their play and interaction with others and sharing these with you.
- Finding appropriate ways for the child to become involved in remembering the person, friend, or special pet, for example a memory box or jar, album, book, or picture.
- Regularly discussing with you how your child is coping, however, this will not be in front of your child, so we may need to arrange to meet in the evening or discuss the matter over the telephone.
- Ensuring that the other children at the setting understand, (according to their age/stage) that their friend is more sensitive and may need to be given more space, help or understanding.
- Looking for carefully chosen resources that could be shared at the setting, or shared at home, such as a story, a toy, a box, or some pictures. We have a range of resources such as Badgers Parting Gifts, The memory Tree, The Patchwork Quilt, A Dog for Ben, The Feelings Monster, feelings thermometers, feelings stones, jars, decorated boxes, and special theme books.
https://www.winstonswish.org/
http://www.childrenanddivorce.com/id18.html
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/coronavirus-advice-suppport-children-families-parents/
https://www.jigsawsoutheast.org.uk/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/bereavement/about-bereavement
http://www.childrenanddivorce.com/id18.html
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/coronavirus-advice-suppport-children-families-parents/
https://www.jigsawsoutheast.org.uk/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/bereavement/about-bereavement
Date: Jan 2023
Signed: AOKane Date: 22.1.24
Signed: MOkane Date: 22.1.24
Signed: AOKane Date: 22.1.24
Signed: MOkane Date: 22.1.24