Synopses & Reviews
Kids need ways to acknowledge death and loss--and they need to express their sense of grief physically. Some children need activities we consider traditional: they conduct ceremonies or write letters to the people they've lost. Others, full of the anger that is a normal stage of grief, need to pound and punch, run and jump. Yet others express their grief through art. This book combines a description of the grieving process with directions for activities that help bereaved children. Kanyer explains the value of each activity so parents and caregivers can select appropriate projects based on the child's age, loss and stage in the grieving process. She also discusses how learning about grief prepares children for new relationships and to accept losses later in life. Laurie Kanyer is a Yakima, Washington educational consultant who specializes in human development across the lifespan. She is also the parenting columnist for the Yakima Herald-Republic. This book evolved from her research on how people parent when they are suffering a life-threatening illness.
This practical book recognizes two important facts: kids grieve many different losses, not just the life-changing ones like death and divorce. It also shows us that children need a variety of ways to express grief. Laurie Kanyer, who works with families where death, divorce, and homelessness are all too common, describes the grieving process and outlines activities that help bereaved children. She explains the value of each activity so that parents and caregivers can select the activities appropriate for a child's age, the kind of loss and the child's stage in the grieving process. Starting in 2010, the continuing military deployments of parents made 25 Things to Do When Grandpa Passes Away, Mom and Dad Get Divorced, or the Dog Dies one of the best-selling Parenting Press titles. Hundreds of copies have been purchased by such programs as the Military Child Education Coalition and Navy Safe Harbor.
Two basic facts serve as the foundation for this vital resource: children grieve many different losses, not just life-changing ones like death and divorce, and they need a variety of ways to express their grief. This informative book combines a description of the grieving process with directions for activities—from the traditional, such as ceremonies or letter writing, to those that allow kids to physically act out their grief—that help bereaved children. Trained counselor Laurie Kanyer explains the value of each activity so that parents and caregivers can select appropriate projects based on the childs age, loss, and stage in the grieving process. She also discusses how learning about grief prepares children for new relationships to accept losses later in life.
About the Author
Laurie Kanyer, MA, is a certified family life educator and the author of Braided Memories and The Journey of Becoming a Mother. She lives in Yakima, Washington. Jenny Williams is a former commercial artist, working on advertisements, fashion, magazines, and book jackets. She is the illustrator of Is This a Phase?