PIKESVILLE, Md. — Many children in our region face trauma, especially from the loss of a parent, sibling, grandparent, or even a pet.
This fall, a local organization is offering three workshops to help children address grief.
Jewish Community Services is partnering with Sol Levinson Funeral Home in Pikesville on a children's grief series, which is free and open to everyone.
This is JCS' first time doing a multi-part series on grief for children, said Donna Kane. She's been a grief clinician for more than 16 years.
She said there's more willingness now to let children process grief.
"There was always a belief that children didn't grieve, but in truth, they just grieve differently than adults," she said. "I think for a long time children were the forgotten grievers. They weren't really acknowledged because adults were so distracted and in such distress. I would say in the last 15, 20 years, it's become more acceptable for children to be at funerals and to have an opportunity to express their grief, either through programs or time with their parents and loved ones."
Kane noted that people who have a loss in their family might see their children playing outside and think they're doing all right.
"But children process grief in little bits, because it becomes too overwhelming to take it in at once. So it's really important to give them space and allow them to ask questions over and over again," she said.
She said it's important for adults to use precise language with children, such as, for example, not saying, "Grandpa's not with us anymore; he went to sleep," because that will create sleep problems for the child.
Also, "remember not to minimize a child's feelings... When your child is crying and you need to get them wherever or do whatever, it's very easy to kind of minimize that in the rush of everyday, and it is important to be sensitive to how they're feeling. It's important to understand that they're going to process this in their own time and their own timeline, so give them a safe space... If they want to draw how they're feeling - they might not always want to, or be able to, use their words."
Asked which age group seems to have the hardest time processing grief, she said it's teenagers.
"Older teens have a more difficult time processing what's happened when they have a loss... Sometimes they can engage in risky behaviors to test themselves, test their own mortality. They can express more anger than other children," she said.
Kane also said:
Grieving won't always be as hard as it feels at any given moment... There is healing, just that you're on a different journey than other people.
The three workshops offered will be:
Heartstrings: Our Ties to the Ones We Love
September 8, 2024
3pm - 4pm
Ages 4-8
Picking Up the Pieces
September 22, 2024
4pm – 5pm
Ages 10+
Making a Memory Box
November 10
4pm - 5pm
Ages 4-10
Parental supervision is encouraged for younger children.
All sessions will take place at Sol Levinson & Bros. Funeral Home at 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville.
For more information, click here.
