How Grief Affects Children
Paradise Kids Australia is dedicated to supporting children experiencing grief by providing age-appropriate programs and resources. We support children coping with loss from death, illness, family separation, or other major life changes.
Our observations highlight the unique ways children experience and express grief compared to adults. Here’s an overview of how grief may appear in children:
- Acting out or exhibiting defiance.
- Withdrawal from family, friends, or activities they once enjoyed.
- Regression to younger behaviours, such as bed-wetting or clinginess.
- Complaints of headaches, stomach aches, or other ailments without a clear medical cause.
- Changes in sleep patterns, including trouble sleeping or excessive fatigue.
- Altered appetite, leading to overeating or loss of interest in food.
- Intense sadness, crying, or feelings of hopelessness.
- Irritability, anger, or difficulty managing emotions.
- Guilt, believing they are somehow responsible for the loss.
- Difficulty concentrating, leading to struggles in school or completing tasks.
- Asking repetitive questions about the loss, seeking reassurance or clarity.
- Misunderstanding the permanence of death, depending on their developmental stage.
- Reluctance to talk about their feelings or the person they lost.
- Changes in friendships or interactions with peers.
- Increased dependency on caregivers or avoiding them altogether.
Guidance for Supporting Grieving Children
Listen Actively: Let children express their feelings in their own words without rushing to “fix” their emotions.
Encourage Questions: Be open to answering their questions about death honestly and with sensitivity.
Provide Reassurance: Help children feel safe and secure by maintaining routines and offering consistent support.
Model Healthy Grieving: Show that it’s okay to grieve and that it’s a process everyone goes through differently.
How can Paradise Kids Support my Child?
Our specialised grief support programs and resources focus on equipping young people through education, enhancing their well-being and providing a supportive community to assist healing and growth. Our founder, Deirdre Hanna and her team have over 28 years of experience helping children improve their emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.
The Grief Explorer’s Program is a peer support group featuring ‘Buddies,’ trained volunteers who provide one-on-one assistance as each child shares their story. This program creates a safe, supportive space where children can freely express their emotions, including anger, without judgment or labelling feelings as good or bad.
Encourages connection: Children are welcomed into an environment where they can connect with others who have experienced similar losses which reduces feelings of isolation, and helps normalise grief experiences.
Expressing Emotions: Focuses on helping children articulate their emotions in a safe and supportive environment though therapeutic activities including: art, music, and craft projects to help children express feelings they may struggle to verbalise.
Storytelling: Sharing stories about grief and loss, which helps children understand and process their own experiences.
Memorial and Healing Activities: Special ceremonies or memory-making activities, such as creating memory boxes or writing letters to the deceased, which can provide closure and honour loved ones.
Education for Families and Caregivers: Parents and Caregivers with a child attending our Grief Explorer’s Program are encouraged to take part in our concurrent Parent’s Program. This peer-based, group support aims to help parents and caregivers address their grief while educating them on how to provide support for their child through the family’s grief journey.
The Grief Explorers Program is suitable for children aged 7-11yrs and is currently run alongside the school terms. The program is delivered over 5 sessions, 5 Tuesday Afternoons from 3:45pm to 5:15pm.