TY - JOUR
T1 - Supporting the Grieving Child and Family
T2 - Clinical Report
AU - Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health
AU - Council on Children and Disasters
AU - Schonfeld, David J.
AU - Demaria, Thomas
AU - Nasir, Arwa
AU - Kumar, Sairam
AU - Nasir, Arwa
AU - Berger-Jenkins, Evelyn
AU - Johnson, Tiffani
AU - Dworkin, Paul
AU - Davis, Beth Ellen
AU - Sriraman, Natasha
AU - Schlesinger, Abigail
AU - Stancin, Terry
AU - Fraser, Heather
AU - Davis, Kathleen Hobson
AU - DeBattista, Anne
AU - Warczak, Zoë
AU - Wheatley, Robyn R.
AU - Krug, Steven E.
AU - Chung, Sarita
AU - Baum, Carl R.
AU - Chatham-Stephens, Kevin
AU - Dahl-Grove, Deanna L.
AU - Davies, H. Dele
AU - Dziuban, Eric J.
AU - Gill, Natasha
AU - Godfred-Cato, Shana
AU - Griese, Stephanie E.
AU - Kaziny, Brent D.
AU - Needle, Scott M.
AU - Schonfeld, David J.
AU - Simpson, Joelle N.
AU - Glasstetter, Eileen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
PY - 2024/7/1
Y1 - 2024/7/1
N2 - The death of someone close to a child often has a profound and lifelong effect on the child and results in a range of both short- and long-term reactions. Pediatricians, within a patient-centered medical home, are in an excellent position to provide guidance to caregivers and to offer assistance and support to grieving children of all ages and their families. This clinical report offers practical suggestions on how to talk with grieving children to help them better understand what has happened and its implications. An understanding of guilt, shame, and other common reactions as well as an appreciation of the role of secondary losses and the unique challenges facing children in communities characterized by chronic trauma and cumulative loss will help the pediatrician to address factors that may impair children’s adjustment and to identify complicated mourning and situations when professional counseling is indicated. Advice on how to support children’s participation in funerals and other memorial services and to anticipate and address grief triggers and anniversary reactions is provided so that pediatricians are in a better position to advise caregivers and to offer consultation to and collaborate with professionals in schools, early education and child care facilities, and other child congregate care sites. Pediatricians often enter their profession out of a profound desire to minimize the suffering of children and may find it personally challenging to bear witness to the distress of children who are acutely grieving. The importance of professional preparation and self-care is, therefore, emphasized, and resources are recommended.
AB - The death of someone close to a child often has a profound and lifelong effect on the child and results in a range of both short- and long-term reactions. Pediatricians, within a patient-centered medical home, are in an excellent position to provide guidance to caregivers and to offer assistance and support to grieving children of all ages and their families. This clinical report offers practical suggestions on how to talk with grieving children to help them better understand what has happened and its implications. An understanding of guilt, shame, and other common reactions as well as an appreciation of the role of secondary losses and the unique challenges facing children in communities characterized by chronic trauma and cumulative loss will help the pediatrician to address factors that may impair children’s adjustment and to identify complicated mourning and situations when professional counseling is indicated. Advice on how to support children’s participation in funerals and other memorial services and to anticipate and address grief triggers and anniversary reactions is provided so that pediatricians are in a better position to advise caregivers and to offer consultation to and collaborate with professionals in schools, early education and child care facilities, and other child congregate care sites. Pediatricians often enter their profession out of a profound desire to minimize the suffering of children and may find it personally challenging to bear witness to the distress of children who are acutely grieving. The importance of professional preparation and self-care is, therefore, emphasized, and resources are recommended.
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U2 - 10.1542/peds.2024-067212
DO - 10.1542/peds.2024-067212
M3 - Article
C2 - 38881360
AN - SCOPUS:85197959651
SN - 0031-4005
VL - 154
JO - Pediatrics
JF - Pediatrics
IS - 1
M1 - e2024067212
ER -