Giving Grief Grace
Giving Grief Grace is a heartfelt podcast offering a safe space where stories of love, loss, light, and healing are shared with compassion and empathy. In each episode, honest conversations woven with nurturing insights create a safe haven, fostering a community of support where sorrow is met with kindness, and the path to healing is approached with utmost care, respect, and love.
Giving Grief Grace
Episode 45 - It's Okay to Say Died: How to Talk to Children About Death at Any Age with Carrie Silver of A Haven
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What do you say when a child asks, "Is Mommy coming back?" This week, Lisa sits down with Carrie Silver, Clinical Director of A Haven, a nonprofit child and family grief center in Exton, Pennsylvania, to explore one of the most important and often-avoided conversations we can have with the children in our lives: talking honestly about death.
Carrie brings both professional expertise and compassion as she walks us through why using real language like the words died, death, dead, is one of the greatest gifts we can give a grieving child. Softer phrases like "passed away," "went to sleep," or "we lost them" can unintentionally create confusion, anxiety, and even shame in young minds still learning how the world works.
This is the first episode of a mini-series with A Haven about how to support and talk to children about death and dying. In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why the #1 factor in how a child grieves is how their caregiver grieves
- What normative grief looks like at every developmental stage — from age 3 through young adulthood
- How to approach these conversations as a "side-by-side" activity rather than a face-to-face talk
- Red flags (and orange flags) that signal a child may need additional support
- The power of keeping rituals, memories, and stories alive, and why talking about and asking questions about a loved one is always a gift, even if it causes tears
- Free resources available through A Haven for families everywhere
Whether you're a parent, caregiver, educator, or grief professional, this episode offers tangible, take-home wisdom for supporting the youngest grievers in your community and yourself.
Resources:
- A Haven: free printable grief resources and consultations available
- Judi's House: comprehensive grief care for children and families and their CBEM Model for national data on children's grief by region
Thanks for tuning in, your time is valuable and we are so grateful for you!
Please share this episode with a friend or someone who could use a hug. You are not alone.
Subscribe to the podcast and we'll see you next week!
Special thanks to:
Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music
Podcast Music Good_B_Music
