Grief Support for Families
Cardinal Kids Bereavement Resources
Perinatal Loss & Loss of Child
Online Resources:
- Perinatal Loss — Missing Pieces (missingpiecesgrief.org)
- Free Online Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Groups (starlegacyfoundation.org)
- About What’s Your Grief – What’s your Grief Website
- Parents — Missing Pieces (missingpiecesgrief.org)
- Abel speaks – Support Changes Stories
- Infant Loss | Bereavement Support | Rachel’s Gift
Suggested Reading:
Shattered – Surviving the Loss of a Child by Gary Roe
Empty Arms: Coping with Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Death by Sherokee Ilse
After the Loss of Your Baby: Teen Mothers by Connie Nykiel
Bearing the Unbearable – Loss of child by Joanne Cacciatore, PhD
Understanding Your Grief by Alan Wolfelt, PhD
The Unspeakable Loss by Nisha Zenoff, PhD
It’s Okay that You’re Not Okay by Megan Divine
My Sibling Still by Megan Lacourrege
(Stillborn or infant loss – talk about parents sadness)
We were gonna have a baby, but we had an angel instead. by Pat Schwiebert
(Excitement about baby – baby died – babe will not live with us)
(Unexpected delivery loss – go to hospital to say goodbye)
Ida, Always by Caron Levis
(Friend or older person loss)
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
(Anyone – not death specific but alludes to death)
When Dinosaurs Die by Laurie Krasny Brown
(Suicide – big words)
The Next Place by Warren Hanson
(Death experience for dying child – older kids)
Something Very Sad Happened by Bonnie Zucker
(Grandma passes and body will not work again – it’s okay to cry and feel emotion)
Soaring With Angels by Polly Zielonka
(Sibling story of infant loss)
Resources for Children
Online Resources:
- https://www.dougy.org/grief-support-resources/kids – (Resources in Spanish)
- https://nacg.org/resource-library/ – (Resources in Spanish)
- https://childrensroom.org/resources/ – (Resources in Spanish)
- Siblings & Children — Missing Pieces (missingpiecesgrief.org)
- Parent Resources | PBS KIDS for Parents
- https://childmind.org/article/helping-children-deal-grief/
- Instagram: @Child_life_grief_notes
Apps:
Suggested Books:
For Children 3 – 5 years
- The Rabbit Listened: by Cori Doerrfeld
- I miss you: A first look at death. by Pat Thomas
- Where’s Jess? For children who have a brother or sister die. by Joy and Marv Johnson
For Children 4 – 8 years
- Ida, Always by Caron Levis
- The Invisible String by Patrice Karst (available in Spanish)
- The Memory Box by Joanna Rowland
- Where’s Jess by Joy & Mary Johnson (recommended for young children who have lost a sibling)
- Why Do I Feel so Sad by Tracy Lambert, LPC
- When dinosaurs die: A Guide to understanding death. by Laurie Krasny Brown and Mark Brown
- Water Bugs and Dragonflies: Explaining death to young children. by Doris Stickney
For Children 8 – 12 years
- Animal Crackers: a tender book about death, funerals, and love by Bridget Marshall
- When someone dies by Sharon Greenlee
- The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages by Leo Buscaglia
- Someone special died. (Kids have feelings, too) by Joan Prestine
- Gentle Willow: A story for children about dying by Joyce C. Mills
- What on earth do you do when someone dies? by Trevor Romain
- Lost and Found: Remembering a Sister by Ellen Yeomans
Resources for Teens
Online Resources:
- https://www.dougy.org/grief-support-resources/teens – (Resources in Spanish)
- https://childrensroom.org/resources/teen_grief_resources/ – (Resources in Spanish)
- https://www.centerforloss.com/2023/12/helping-teenagers-cope-grief/
- Instagram: @Teen_life_grief_notes
Suggested Books:
- Straight Talk about death for Teenagers by Earl Grollman
- Beat the Turtle Drum by Constance C. Greene
- The kids’ book about death and dying: By and for kids. by Eric Rofes and the Unit at Fayerweather Street School
- Part of me died, too: Stories of creative survival among bereaved children and teenagers by Virginia Lynn Fry
