Death and loss is a part of life that affects young children. The emotional pain of a child who has lost a loved one makes it tempting to avoid the subject or to try to distract the child. When a loss is not addressed appropriately by adults it may leave the child feeling confused or promote a feeling of distrust. While we would all like to shield children from grief, the reality is that they will all experience it at one time or another. This session will define most common times of grief and loss for young children, identify stages of grief, discover ways young children react behaviorally to grief and loss, and determine ways to support children through this process. (2 DCDEE contact hours)
