Today is Children’s Grief Awareness Day. 

Everyone knows a child who has been affected by the loss of a loved one; in the sepsis community, many of us are very familiar with the grief of our children. Children’s grief can often be overlooked when tragedy hits, and their silence is confused by the belief that they are doing ok when, in fact, their little hearts are torn apart with longing for those who have died. To express their feelings, children need an adult who makes them feel safe and secure.

Something I learned about children’s grief is the concept of re-grieving. This refers to the experience and process of grief over a past loss at different stages of life. As children mature, they may visit the loss with a new understanding that wasn’t possible at a younger age.  They may process the loss with a fresh perspective, causing emotions tied to the experience to resurface and feel more intense or different than previously felt. Especially surviving siblings who know the person gone and who they are missing terribly will never be with them to mark occasions like graduations, weddings, birthdays, and babies…

So it’s an important day; children deserve this special day. Let’s remember that children need safe spaces too.