How To Help Your Kids Through Difficult Events
How To Help Your Kids Through Difficult Events
Even as a child or adolescent we may face challenging times when things seem to be crashing down around us. It would be nice if parents could protect their children from everything life can bring, but sometimes that is impossible. The good news is, there are things you can do to help them through the pain and confusion of some events. Your first responsibility is to be honest with them, but not expose them to things they may not be ready to handle. If you and your spouse are seeing a Georgia divorce lawyer or Georgia divorce attorney, it is important that you are up front about the future in a calm, confident manner. Explain to your child that no matter what happens, he will be safe and his parents will continue to love him. Remember that even if you and your spouse are not getting along, it does not change how you feel about your child. Even though the structure of your family will change, you will still remain a family.
An unavoidable part of life is death, and even when children are young they may have to face losing a loved one. It can be tough for kids to understand death since their frame of reference is so limited. If a distant relative dies, it may be a good opportunity to explain death to your child and allow them to experience some of the rituals and practices surrounding it. It can be tougher if the first time a child is exposed to death it is someone very close to them. If this happens, try not to hide things from them. Explain it to them in language they will understand, but let them grieve with the rest of the family.
One of the most common ways children are exposed to death is through the loss of a pet. While it can be tough living through the passing of a beloved family pet, it can be an appropriate way to introduce children to the experience. If they are older and understand that life ends in death, and a pet passes, it is little comfort to know it always eventually happens. Instead of a learning experience, it just feels like a tragedy. Allow them to grieve and take the death as seriously as you would a family member, even if you do not feel that way. It is important to understand the child feels as if they did lose a member of the family and you need to respect that loss.
Less traumatic than death, but still a time when support will be needed to cope is moving from one home to another. If a child is involved in relocation, it can be challenging for them to adjust to their new school and new neighborhood. Even if the move was to a safer location or just an upgrade in lifestyle, change like this is tough for children work through. Try to be understanding of their feelings and know that in their small world, relocating is a major event.
A final challenge parents may face when it comes to their kids is problems with their friends. Your child’s friends can have a major impact. Try to be understanding, even if the problems seem trivial to you.
