This podcast will focus on how to talk to kids about the death of a pet as well as how to cope with the grief associated with pet loss. Wendy Van De Poll provides tips to help adults know how to help a child grieve when a pet dies as well as what to say to a child when a pet is sick and death is imminent. She also provides ways to help support a child in moving forward to engage in positive memories to help heal the grief.
Special Guest: Wendy Van de Poll
This podcast provides:
Tips:
Plan ahead.
Know the difference between normal and abnormal grief.
Let a child grieve and allow your child to have a full breadth of feelings.
Use real words.
Discuss the life cycle.
Read books to your children about loss
Create scrap books or allow your child to write a letter to your pet
Scripts:
Why not to say “your dog went to sleep” and what to say instead.
How to move towards positive memories.
How to honestly but gently talk to your child when your pet is very sick and death is going to occur soon.
What to say when you are angry and loss is sudden.
Steps
Know the stages of grief and don’t rush them.
Play a positive game.
What do you remember?
Important Messages:
We must let kids grieve- this is a big loss in their lives.
Dispel the myths of grief—grief doesn’t just go away.
Everyone grieves in different ways.
Notice the difference between grief and mourning.
Notable Quotables:
“I feel like death as hard as it is, gives us a wonderful doorway for our children to teach them about truth, honesty and the cycle of life.”
“The relationships that children have with animals are purely magical.”
“Honesty is critical…it helps us change the paradigm that death is a bad thing. Death gives room for life.”
