Early Years Bereavement Support
When a child is very young it can be even more challenging to know what to tell them or know what they might understand.
Even small babies will be able to pick up on changes in routine, the absence of a caregiver and the emotions of the adults around them. Often babies display signs of being unsettled and there may be changes in their eating and sleeping habits.
As children rapidly change at such a young age their understanding of the world is also developing quickly.
Young children often experience bereavement as a sense of abandonment or absence and may show this by appearing clingy to their caregiver.
Young children may appear to need information about what has happened frequently but not have the language to express themselves. Therefore they may be more likely to act out how they feel rather than express it with words.
As a young child develops they may naturally become curious about death and dying and not fully understand the permanence of it.
For more information and guidance on how to support your young child please look at our Bereavement and Early Years guidance leaflet here.
Winston’s Wish have a book with much more detail, available to buy through their website here
