Can We Talk 2

Grieving Children

         I've been searching for books for children on the subject of death. I've found one that I might order, Someone I Loved Died. I have a librarian searching for books for me. The children in my family are having difficulty dealing with the loss of one of the parents. The various parents of the cousins are dealing with it differently, some by avoiding it. But they have questions and it's difficult, even for adults to accept. So I thought I would do what I could in the time I have with them.

         We can color while we talk about feelings. I can tell them it's okay to talk about him, to remember things he did. At least one child is afraid to speak of him, and whispers only. At least the widow is dealing with her kids directly. I read somewhere that Charlotte's Web is a good book and a good movie for grieving children. I never thought of it as a movie about death, although certainly Charlotte dies. But she lives on in the babies she never met, and the stories that Wilbur tells. There's a lesson in that for us. It's okay to talk about the one who died and to remember good stories. Dying, although sad, is a part of living. There are no answers to make it easier or to go away.