Charlene White Instagram – My @theipaper column this week is all about talking to children about grief and death, after Florence made what she called a “bye bye” box for my mum… filled with things she thought my mum would like. Plus a card she made with my mum on it including my mum’s name Dorrett — which is one of Florence’s middle names.
We talk very honestly in our house about the normal feelings we have when we lose someone we love. And my mum is very much a part of that. When she sees a bright star in the sky Florence regularly asks if it could be my mum keeping an eye on us.
We normalise missing those we loved who are now gone, and why those feelings are okay. And we talk about the people we love in our lives who are ill, and why it makes them feel weak sometimes and why they may be struggling. Both of them are aware of the demon that is cancer.
Hiding these feelings which are a natural – but devastating – part of life doesn’t always prepare them for the juggernaut that is loss. We prepare them for so much as children, giving them some tools to help navigate grief and death should also be on that list.
I’ll pop the link to the article in my Stories, but there’s always a link at the top of the page. | Posted on 17/Jan/2025 23:29:13
