Wathall's helps families support children through bereavement

A firm of funeral directors with a base in Borrowash, is marking Children’s Mental Health Week (Feb 1-7) by publishing a special booklet focusing on how to support children through bereavement.

The theme of this year’s national week is encouraging children and young people to explore different ways to express themselves and share their feelings, thoughts and ideas through creativity which is reflected in the child bereavement booklet.

In the coming weeks, Wathall’s bereavement support coordinator Fay Bloor who leads on the company’s Dandelions Bereavement Support programme will be publishing a creative activity book to encourage children to express their grief using words and pictures.

She explained: “Children’s mental health week is more important than ever this year due to the social isolation that children and young people have faced during the pandemic.

“Bereavement can be a major factor in children and young people experiencing mental health issues and we thought it very appropriate to launch the booklet during this important national awareness week.

“Talking to a child about death can sometimes feel too difficult to do. Often adults feel like they must protect children from this harsh reality but avoiding the discussions can cause confusion and anxiety for the child.  Children are extremely resilient and can deal with the truth, if it is explained to them in language that they understand.

“The booklet therefore addresses subjects such as breaking bad news about death in a straightforward and honest way; what language to avoid; involvement in funeral arrangements; common reactions and suggestions for working through grief as a family.”

She continued: “We also look forward to launching the activity book which I hope will be a useful aide for families at what is a particularly difficult time in their lives having lost a loved one.”

The booklet, ‘Supporting a child through grief’ is available to download online, or by contacting Wathall’s.  The children’s bereavement workbook can be pre-ordered by contacting Fay Bloor,  Tel: 01332 345268 or by email fay.bloor @ wathalls.co.uk who has also posted a blog about the subject.