Bringing a pet at home is usually a decision that parents make in order to make their children happy. For majority of these kids, pets are not just there to play with them. They are creatures that bring joy to them, teach them the value of responsibility, relieve their stress, and as a whole make good friends. Given this, there is no doubt that kids spend more time with pets than any other members of the household. Hence, children are likely to experience pet loss grief with the death of a pet.
As a parent, it might be hard to think how you can help your kids move on from the loss. This is so because you know for yourself that you are also having a hard time coping up. But since you are the adult, you have to take it upon yourself to give your kids some extra help.
In this pursuit, it is imperative for parents to keep in mind that patience is important. Children are likely to bring up the topic again and again so you need to have enough patience. Apart from this, you have to give your children the chance to deal with their grief. Allow them to express their feelings openly and don't hesitate to show them your own grief too.
Work on having an open and honest discussion about what transpired. Also in the same way that Christian counseling experts would, you have to talk about death and grief in the manner that kids can comprehend. Don't use words like God took the pet or the pet is just asleep. These can give them false fears - fear that God will take them or their loved ones and fear of sleeping. It is also recommended to involve your children to activities pertaining to the loss. Let them participate in the memorial service. Allow them to contribute ideas to how the memorial service should be done. In the event that a child refuses to join the service, give him that liberty as well.
Also, part of your pursuit to help your child recover is to educate him about the permanency of death. Further, don't commit the mistake of immediately getting another pet to replace the lost one. This will trigger feelings of disloyalty and will also give the wrong impression that grief for a loss can be overcome by mere buying of a replacement.
While it is true that pet loss grief counseling is not as serious as substance abuse counseling, it has to be given careful consideration just the same. Exerting effort in learning the best practices to help your kids cope up can go a long way in your kids' recovery. Practice patience and remember to hug and reassure your kids always.
As a parent, it might be hard to think how you can help your kids move on from the loss. This is so because you know for yourself that you are also having a hard time coping up. But since you are the adult, you have to take it upon yourself to give your kids some extra help.
In this pursuit, it is imperative for parents to keep in mind that patience is important. Children are likely to bring up the topic again and again so you need to have enough patience. Apart from this, you have to give your children the chance to deal with their grief. Allow them to express their feelings openly and don't hesitate to show them your own grief too.
Work on having an open and honest discussion about what transpired. Also in the same way that Christian counseling experts would, you have to talk about death and grief in the manner that kids can comprehend. Don't use words like God took the pet or the pet is just asleep. These can give them false fears - fear that God will take them or their loved ones and fear of sleeping. It is also recommended to involve your children to activities pertaining to the loss. Let them participate in the memorial service. Allow them to contribute ideas to how the memorial service should be done. In the event that a child refuses to join the service, give him that liberty as well.
Also, part of your pursuit to help your child recover is to educate him about the permanency of death. Further, don't commit the mistake of immediately getting another pet to replace the lost one. This will trigger feelings of disloyalty and will also give the wrong impression that grief for a loss can be overcome by mere buying of a replacement.
While it is true that pet loss grief counseling is not as serious as substance abuse counseling, it has to be given careful consideration just the same. Exerting effort in learning the best practices to help your kids cope up can go a long way in your kids' recovery. Practice patience and remember to hug and reassure your kids always.
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If you want to know more about how Christian counseling experts help individuals cope with the sad things happening to life then visit http://www.aihcp.org for more details.
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