A Parent's Guide to Managing Childhood Grief: 100 Activities for Coping, Comforting, & Overcoming Sadness, Fear, & Loss

This is very well written and easy to read. It provides valuable background information on the topic of child grief, as well as many, many practical exercises that can be employed. The author clearly has a passion, professional experience and academic credentials to address this topic in a very meaningful way. This book would be a great addition to the tool kit for parents dealing with child grief issues (or being ready to deal with such issues in the future), as well as academic curriculum and professional reference materials.

Whether you are a parent, relative, teacher or caretaker, this book will help you be an effective support system for the child in your life. The activities are easy to understand and the advice in the book can be tailored to fit your child’s needs and specific situations. It is easy to read and has lots of helpful, age appropriate advice.

This book is a wonderful resource for a wide audience of people who want to support a child through grief over the death of a loved one--whether a parent, grandparent, sibling or classmate. The activities are designed for an adult to do with a child or small group of children. With 100 activities, there are bound to be some that appeal to and are appropriate for almost everyone. The author has made activities concrete for children. For instance, instead of just teaching deep breathing, she suggests the child lie down on the floor and place a toy on their stomach, so they can watch it go up and down while they breathe. A number of activities correlate colors with emotions and so on. Some activities are verbal, some sensory, some involve active movement, some arts and crafts, games etc. One of my favorites was making a holiday ornament from polymer clay. Directions are clear and the activity does not require artistic talent. I know how soothing it can be to create something permanent to remember someone by. The book has activities for many different emotions, including sadness, anger and anxiety. There are chapters dealing with concerns such as: should my child go to the funeral? Each section also has an introduction that deals with age-appropriate expectations and reassurance that feelings are normal. The age range for children is generally 5 -11 years but many activities could be adapted for younger children. In addition, some activities could be used with adults in grief support groups, assisted living and nursing homes. It would be a great resource for Hospice to give out when a loved one has died and children are involved. This book is a resource not just for parents, but any non-professional who loves a child, and for professionals such as therapists and school counselors. I highly recommend it.

This is a helpful book for any family dealing with loss – I was able to use many of the activities with both my 9 year old and 5 year old. Thanks to the author for writing this guide to childhood grief.

Grief must be the most challenging and consequential emotion in life. Handling a first traumatic loss experience will likely affect all future similar situations. Unfortunately, our inner child remembers hurt and sorrow easier than joy. However, as a parent or any adult caring for children, there is assistance to provide positive comfort.Katie Lear, a licensed mental health counselor, has addressed the problem in A Parent’s Guide to MANAGING CHILDHOOD GRIEF. She has compiled a hundred interactive activities to help you, as a parent, help your child cope with sadness and the fear of loss.As a counselor and sociologist, I know the importance of expressing emotions at any age. Identifying, accepting, and releasing negative feelings creates good mental health, which we all need now more than ever.I applaud Katie Lear for taking on this subject with a five-star recommendation.

This guide is approachable, comprehensive, and empowering for the caregiver who inevitably has to discuss/manage grief with children. Lear clearly breaks down grief, how it can manifest itself depending on the child's stage of development, provides thoughtful and relevant questions, and does it all through language that brings comfort to the reader. The activities presented are easy to navigate and each chapter is clear on what category within the grieving process the activities address which allows the reader to explore them in any order as per their individual needs. As a parent and an aspiring social worker, I can say this book is staying in my library for a very long time.

This is not a topic that anyone WANTS to need a book about, but maybe that's why it's really important that this one exists. For parents who have no idea how to help their kids through the loss of a loved one, this is such a helpful resource. It's packed with exercises that are easy to process and use--I really like the variety because we all know that with kids it's not "one size fits all." You might even find that a lot of the material here is helpful for a number of different challenging circumstances, not just grief. Definitely an essential addition to your parenting library!

This is such a great resource for parents and children alike trying to grapple with the tough concept of coping and dealing with loss. The author has put so much care and compassion into this book, and it is clear that they are coming from a place of great expertise and care for comforting those going through such difficult times. Definitely a must-read for anyone experiencing grief, parent and child alike.