The Grieving Student

“Provides a window into the personal experiences of the bereaved child and offers practical and easy-to-follow strategies that teachers and schools can immediately utilize.”—Thomas Demaria, Ph.D., Director, Psychological Services Center

Teachers can be a critical lifeline for a grieving child—and now they have a practical guidebook to help them provide sensitive support to students of all ages. Educators will get the real-world tips, strategies, and insights they need to:
• explain major concepts of death in age-appropriate ways
• respond constructively to children’s common feelings and behaviors after a death
• initiate and maintain positive, helpful communication
• learn what to say and what not to say when a child or family is grieving
• use simple commemorative activities at school to help students cope with their feelings
• address children’s responses to different causes of death, including suicide, illness, and violence
• help a child who is “stuck” in a difficult phase of grief
• provide ongoing assistance when triggers of grief renew a child’s sense of loss
• notify and support students after a death that affects the whole school community

The Grieving Student gives teachers a vivid inside look at what their students may be feeling and how an educator’s words and actions can make a difference.

With this how-to guide to one of the most delicate issues an educator will encounter, teachers will give students the support they need to cope with grief and work their way back to full participation in academic and social life.