Loss of a parent

[SJL]

Hi,
I dont know if this is the right place for this or not.

I am feeling a bit lost for words at the moment, my cousin has just been moved into palative care due to cancer and has been told he has 2-3 weeks to live. That alone is devistating for a man in his late 30's but the sadest part is he has 3 young children.

What do you say to kids when they loose a parent??

I dont know if anyone has had to deal with this situation but any helpful words or advice would be appreciated (including what not to do or say)

Thank you for your help

Sjl

[Persephone1]

I'm sorry for your family having to go through this.

I have nil experience of this situation but I used to work in a bookstore, and there are a few books about dealing with children's grief - what to say, what not to say, how to let them express their grief, etc. If you ask at your local (good quality) bookstore or library, you should find something, or you might like to try googling books about it and buying them online.

All the best, to you and your family.

[Astrid]

I lost my sister to cancer 5 years ago. She left behind 2 small children. Unfortunately I have no idea what was said to the children about her death. The family were very active in their church, so I would say that the Minister would have given a lot of advice on what to tell them and given a lot of support to the family in general. As she had been sick for quite awhile they had gotten used to their mum not being around much, she was either in bed or in hospital. They were also used to other people (family and friends) looking after them. They thankfully had a huge amount of support and a lot of that has stayed.

If you are part of a church, or they are, I recommend having a chat to the Minister as they would have dealt with something like this before.

[SallyJ]

That's such a sad situation - my heart goes out to them. My best suggestion would be to make sure the kids have ample access to a counsellor. There are a few picture books which deal with death - when my dad died I had one that I read with my DS -problem is they often deal with the death of someone who is old.