How To Move Forward After The Death of A Child

3 min read

3 years ago admin

According to the World Health Organization, around one million babies die a day within birth. Meanwhile, a 2019 report stated that approximately 5.2 million children (under five years old) died of treatable causes. While death is an inevitable part of life, losing a loved one when they’re only a child is a more excruciating and traumatic experience. However, there are different ways to cope. And having mementos like angel chimes can help grieving parents move forward.

How A Child’s Death Affects Parents

When parents lose their children, the experience brings forth changes in both their biological and psychological well-being. Physical symptoms include headaches, muscle cramps, insomnia, and digestive dysfunctions. In the long run, people who can’t handle grief well risk developing more serious conditions, such as cancer and immune disorders.

If you’re thinking of giving sympathy gifts like angel chimes to grieving parents, that sounds like a good plan. This is one way of helping alleviate the psychological burdens they have. A mother or a father mourning the loss of their little angel can show more depressive symptoms. When not addressed, it can lead to self-inflicted harms and marital disruptions.

How To Move Forward

Even when the death of a child is expected (i.e., due to an illness), no parent can ever prepare it. There will always be feelings of denial, pain, guilt, powerlessness, and anger. Here’s what can be done to help grieving parents move forward.

Know that grief takes time. As people say, grieving has no set timeline. After the death of a child, parents may experience pain that surfaces from time to time. This is why taking small steps is essential. There’s no need to rush and get back to normal. Give them the time and space they need to process what happened and what will happen.

Keeping memories alive is important. Whenever they’re ready to talk, listen to them. Don’t encourage them to hide their guilt. And during your conversations, don’t be afraid — but be sincere and gentle — when bringing up the memories of their child. Talking about their child is important because it helps keep their memories alive. Other ways of doing so are by sending sympathy gifts (like angel chimes) and continuing family traditions that their child was particularly fond of (like preparing home baked pies during holidays).

Be the support that they need. From practical to emotional help, there are different ways you can offer assistance to grieving parents. Be strong for them because now more than ever, they need to have a support system. And to really help them move forward, you have to be consistent. Even after the immediate days or weeks following the death, let them know that they can still count on you for help.

Don’t be afraid of professional intervention whenever necessary. There are instances when parents couldn’t simply move forward and accept their child’s death. They could be consumed by guilt or remorse, hindering them from believing that they can be happy once again or that they can go on with their lives. When this happens, be instrumental in letting them receive the professional help that they need.