Dealing with any kind of loss with a child or children is a task that most adults dread. Best friends can move away, a car can kill a favorite pet, a schoolmate can be killed in an auto accident, and Grandma may die suddenly are all situations that parents can face. In any case, a parent should handle the loss with dignity and quality so the child learns how to deal by comparison.

These are especially difficult times for a parent if they were close to the deceased individual too. Handling their own grief and explaining the process to a child can be a catharsis which enables the parent to stay grounded in their own pain. Often, teaching and sharing at a hard time helps improve understanding and communication between parent and child, a time of bonding that can be very rewarding.

It always helps if the parent or parents are firm in their own belief system and have formed a personal life philosophy from which they can extract explanations that will be easily understood by the child. A philosophy of life consists of knowing: you can excel, that there will be up times and down, that it takes strength of character and courage to follow life