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Finding support for children and teens
Finding support for children and teens
Children and teenagers can grieve after a death just as adults do, although how they understand and express their grief may be different. Their experience can also change as they grow older, develop a fuller understanding of what happened, or come to see their relationship with the person who died in new ways.
There is no single way a child or young person should respond to a bereavement. Their age and personality, their relationship with the person who died, their family circumstances and what they understand about the death may all shape their experience. They may have questions immediately or return to the loss at different points as they grow up.
If you are supporting a bereaved child or teenager, you may be grieving too. It can be difficult to know what to say, how much information to give, or how to respond when their feelings or behaviour change. You do not need to have all the answers. Listening to their questions and making space for them to talk about the person who died can be important, as can finding specialist support when you need it.
Finding specialist support
CCIWBS provides counselling for adults and does not offer counselling to children or teenagers. However, there are specialist bereavement organisations that work with children and young people and can also support the adults around them.
Child Bereavement UK provides bereavement support and information for children, young people and families. It also offers guidance for parents, carers, schools and professionals supporting a bereaved child or young person.
Grief Encounter supports bereaved children, young people and their families through information, advice and specialist bereavement services.
If you are supporting a child or teenager after a death, these organisations can help you think about how to talk with them about what has happened, respond to their questions and find support appropriate to their age and circumstances.
Seeking specialist support does not necessarily mean that something is wrong or that a child is grieving in a particular way. It can simply provide another place for them, and for you, to find information and support following a bereavement.