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Learn how to live after loss and cope with the death of a child

Paige W. Toller, Ph.D.
Associate Professor-School of Communication

Healing after the loss of your child: Expert advice for parents

Sherrie Campbell, Ph.D.
Steps Through Grieving the Loss of Your child

How can parents manage their grief after the death of a child?

Nichole Schwerman-Stangel
Bereavement Coordinator/CISM Coordinator

Creatively coping with the loss of a baby is essential for healing

Elizabeth Berrien
Author of Creative Grieving: A Hip Chick’s Path from Loss to Hope Co-founder of The Respite: A Centre for Grief & Hope

Loss of a Child

When a child dies, parents feel as if a part of them has also died. Their loss is deeply painful, overwhelming and disorienting. The trauma from losing a child creates a large void in the family what will remain forever.Bereaved parents must find ways to continue to love and honor the life of their deceased child, while also trying to continue to live their own lives. There are no rules, timetables of protocols for mourning the loss of a child. Parents need to cope in their own, personal way, and in their own time. Our experts offer support and guidance as parents navigate the healing journey and work through a complexity of emotions, deep grief and extreme sadness.

Learn how to live after loss and cope with the death of a child

As a parent, most people assume that their children will outlive them. Burying one’s child goes against the natural cycle of life. Unfortunately, many parents do experience the heartbreak of having a child die. The grief that accompanies a child’s death is profoundly painful, raw and life-altering. The despair and devastation of grieving a child’s death can result in hopelessness and a lack of meaning. However, with time and support, many bereaved parents learn to live again and even find joy and purpose in life.

How can parents manage their grief after the death of a child?

Having a child die turns your life upside down. Trying to understand your grief may be overwhelming. Grief takes longer than most people think and requires more energy than you ever would have imagined. Although the grief process can be painful, lonely and frightening, allowing yourself to experience your grief is necessary to heal. There is no way around grief—only through it. While everyone grieves differently, these are some suggestions that you may find helpful as you travel through your grief journey.

Healing after the loss of your child: Expert advice for parents

Our children are not supposed to die. As parents, we expect to see our children grow into adults and have full lives. We never expect to leave our children behind. When we lose a child, we lose our future, our hopes, our dreams and our identity as a parent. It is profoundly disorienting to lose a child because it is a death that is not supposed to happen. Parents expect to outlive their children--and they never expect to bury them.

Creatively coping with the loss of a baby is essential for healing

Losing a baby is one of the most devastating losses that a person can experience. It goes against the natural order of life and death. A parent should never have to bury their child, but sadly, it is something that happens more often than many people realize.

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Loss of a Child