When a child loses a parent…

Looking at how the death of a parent affects a child

Tiffany Volkman

The Death of a parent…

The death of a parent takes away a core support person from a child. Depending on the age of the child and the relationship with the parent, it can have a devastating affect on the child. The surviving parent loses their partner, the child loses their parent, and the child also loses the person they were in that parent-child relationship. The impact will carry over in different areas of the child’s life such as school and friendships.

Statistics… 5% - 6% of children will experience the death of a parent by the

time they are 16 years old. (hawaii.edu) After losing a parent, 85% of children exhibit symptoms as

difficulty sleeping, angry outbursts, worry, depression, bed-wetting, and thumb-sucking. After a year, more regressive behaviors may fade, but other problems, such as lack of confidence and preoccupation with illness, are likely to continue. (griefspeaks.org)

Children who had a parent that died suddenly have 3X’s the risk of depression than those with living parents. (sciencedaily.com)

45% said they have more trouble concentrating on school work. (nationalallianceforgrievingchildren.org)

The top two things children said the death of their family member has taught them is 1) How important my family is to me (78%) and 2) Life is not fair (72%) (nationalallianceforgrievingchildren.org)

The affect on classroom behavior… Children who have experienced the loss of a parent

typically experience intense grief and sadness, social withdrawal, attention seeking, declines in academic performance, rebellion, anger, guilt, and preoccupation with thoughts about their parent (hawaii.edu) This can manifest in the classroom as:

Daydreaming Isolation Lack of effort-non caring attitude Behavioral outbursts Emotional outbursts

Strategies to support the student… Allow the student opportunities to talk about it Provide a consistent schedule to give the

student a sense of security Attend the funeral if possible to show the

student your support Allow the student to leave class as necessary

to speak with the school counselor or just to take a short break

Resources to support students who have lost a parent… Tips for teachers to help grieving students:

http://www.petersplaceonline.org/resources_27_2723462710.pdf

A list of books for children that have lost a parent: http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Books_for_Children_Dealing_With_Loss_or_Trauma.pdf

Sources cited:

http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Impact%20of%20Parental%20Death%20on%20Children.pdf

http://www.griefspeaks.com/id113.html http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/

2008/05/080505162849.htm http://www.nationalallianceforgrievingchildren.org/

national-poll-bereaved-children-teenagers http://www.petersplaceonline.org/

resources_27_2723462710.pdf http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/

Books_for_Children_Dealing_With_Loss_or_Trauma.pdf