Customer Reviews

Helping Children Cope with the Loss of a Loved One: A Guide for Grownups

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Every parent, educator and concerned adult should read this book even if they are not currently helping a child through the loss of a loved one. Parents often spend a great deal of time reading about child development but they should not deglect another important part of development -- learning and dealing with death. This book was extremely valuable with helping me help my children deal with the death of their Grandfather.

Helping Children Cope with the Loss of a loved one, gives practical hands-on advice on how to help children from infants to 18 through the grieving process. Dr. Kroen explains how children at all ages and stages perceive and react to death. This book has recently won the 1996 Parent's Choice Award for excellence

My brother recently died suddenly, leaving behind a daughter nearly two years old. This book helped us understand what she is going through and also what to expect in the coming months. It is very good at explaining that children mourn in an entirely different way than adults do, so that behaviors that seem contradictory or heartless are actually not that at all. It also helped us know what to tell her and how to do it.

I highly recommend it, especially for children that are a bit too young for art therapy, but old enough to understand that something is wrong.

A very good review of the basic strategies that have proven to really help adults and children under these circumstances.I will also recommend to read "30 ways to help a grieving child" where you can find other complementary information and guidance. The two books are very clear and offer very useful concrete advise on what to do and what not to do BEFORE and after the death of a loved one.

Children eventually learn about death, whether it's a grandparent, pet, or someone else that is no longer alive. I took a Child and Family Studies course in Death when I was in college, not thinking I'd have to use the information for a very long time, and this was one of the textbooks for the class. Easily understood, the chapters are not overwhelmingly long. It was surprising how children react differently to death than an adult and even though they may be acting fine, they are hurting. I liked how it gave insights for different ages of children and explained why they might be acting the way they are. I have bought this book and given it to other people as a gift in times of grief.

This is an easy-to-read book that discusses the basic skills of helping children grieve. It is also a nice resource to give parents of grieving children because it isn't as long as some of the other books I have read in this category.