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Chippewa Valley Schools
Information for Teachers
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If children are oldenough to love,
they are old enoughto grieve.
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At any given
time, half of thechildren in your
classroom maybe affected by
some kind of
loss.
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Losses Children Grieve
Death of someone significant
Illness of an important person
Parental separation/divorce
Family move
Parental addiction Parental incarceration
Loss of a loved pet
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Grieving in Childhood
Grief responses can be acute or
subtle and hard to observe.
Children tend to grieve sporadically,
in unpredictable bursts.
Grief issues may re-emerge at later
developmental stages.
Grieving is more complicated after
a sudden or traumatic loss.
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Common Grief Reactions
in Children
Sadness
Anger
Lowered self-esteem
Guilt
Fears
Insecurity
Denial
Relief
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Behaviors You Might Observe
Acting out behaviors
Agitation
Withdrawal Physical complaints/fatigue
Regression to younger behaviors
Separation problems/ clinging Poor concentration
Inconsistent school performance
Decreased work production
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Each childs griefexperience is unique.
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Childrens Perception of Death
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Preschool Through 1st Grade
Death is not seen as final
Dead thought of as ghosts
Magical thinking
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2nd Grade Through 5th Grade
Increased awareness that
people die
View death as happening
only to others
May feel they caused the
death
Interested in the physical
aspects of death
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One in twenty children will have
a parent die before s/hegraduates from high school.
Many more children
will lose some other
significant person(sibling, other family
member, or friend)
to death.
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Gain Information
After hearing about the loss:
Contact the family
Gather accurate information
Determine how the student is coping with the loss
Discuss what information should be shared with the
class
Ask about funeral arrangements
Offer to be of assistance
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Provide a Supportive
Environment Prior to the childs return to school, share
factual
information with the class
Answer students questions directly while
staying within their capacity to understand
Provide them with the opportunity to share
their feelings
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Create an opportunity for students to reachout to their grieving
classmate, e.g.
condolence cards
Brainstorm with the class acceptable
statements of sympathy
Provide a Supportive
Environment
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Support the Grieving Child
Speak to the child privately to offer your support
Listen. Allow the child to express his/her
feelings
Reduce school work as needed
Be watchful for events that may trigger more
intense feelings e.g. holidays, anniversary of
death, etc.
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Understand that grieving is a long process
Remember that the grieving child does notalways look sad
Recognize that acting out behaviors may bea way of expressing
distress
Support the Grieving Child
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Children may notremember what you
say, but they willnever forget how
you make them feel.
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Increasing numbers of
children face significant andsometimes multiple losses.
Besides the death of asignificant person, these
losses may include illness of
a family member, parentalseparation or divorce, family
moves, etc.
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When to be Concerned
Be concerned if a child:
Evidences dramatic change
Displays prolonged depression, anger, orwithdrawal
Exhibits dramatic decline in school work
for an extensive period Makes suicidal statements
Alert parents, administrators, school social
worker, counselor, and/or psychologist.
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Resources
Your building social worker, counselor, or
psychologist can provide you more information:
strategies for supporting the grieving child
classroom activities
referral information
resource materials for children and parents
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Resources
Your building crisis team can assist in themanagement of an
acute crisis situation.
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Outside Resource
SandCastlesHospices of Henry Ford Health System
Ongoing grief support program for children and theirfamilies who
have experienced the death of a
significant person
Meets at Chippewa Valley High School
Free of Charge
For more information contact: 313- 874-6881
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As a teacher you havethe opportunity totouch childrens lives
in a very special way.Your actions canhave a life-long
impact.
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This information has been provided bythe
Chippewa Valley Schools
District Crisis Coordinating Team
whose mission is to support district staff and
building crisis teams in crisis response efforts.
