Grief & Loss

Creating memories is so important for so many reasons.

Although we celebrate these special days, there is no reason to wait for them to appear on the calendar, we can create magical moments whenever we want too, therefore bringing about beautiful creations of memories.

I’d like to focus on those beautiful memories and ‘treasured gifts’.

Gifts don’t have to be about those presents of materialistic value but those of ‘treasured value’, those gifts that maybe only you can see, remember, and honour. These can be the day that special person taught you to tie your shoes laces, knot a tie, check the oil in the car, teach you to drive, change a tyre, bake their favourite cookies with you, taught you to cook, play tag, fish, catch eels etc.. The list is endless.

'Change' is everywhere. A good way to talk to children about change and loss is through life cycles. We are all experiencing constant change at the moment (due to COVID alert levels and lockdowns) then on top of this there are children I'm aware of that are going through others changes, losses and grief. Two simple ways to talk about change is through the life cycle of a caterpillar to a butterfly and the tadpole to a frog. This can start a gentle conversation about what changes the children are aware of around them.

Other life cycles include: Water bug - Dragon fly, Seasons etc. This could lead on to the life cycle of a human, especially if a child is living with a loved one who is sick.

Beginnings - Middle - Endings are important to talk about with your child. These three stages of any life cycle (including our current lock down cycle) can be really useful.