Throughout this series, we have provided a variety of practical ways to support your loved ones who experience the death of a child. While not an exhaustive list, these are a robust set of ideas you can consider to show your love and support for your grieving loved ones. Previous blog posts are linked further down on this page for ease of reference.
It's worth noting that most of the approaches we've shared for supporting bereaved parents are particularly relevant within the short-term - i.e., the first few weeks or months after the death of a child. However, after the first three or so months is when any initial outpouring of support often falls off. This time and onward is when it's particularly important to continue checking in on your loved ones.
You can do this through some of the ways we've already discussed, such as sending a supportive message, offering to do an activity like going for a walk, or continuing to share resources as fitting.
Another significant way you can show your ongoing support is by continuing to honor their child's memory through remembrance gifts, such as the beautiful keepsakes that we offer. Whether it's a personalizable picture frame, artwork, holiday ornament, journaling set, or other gift set, your demonstration of thoughtfulness - months, years, and even decades after the death of a child - will go a long way in helping bereaved parents feel loved and cared for as they navigate the ongoing grief of losing their child.
These gifts are excellent for milestone moments such as the child's birthday, the anniversary of the child's death, and the day the parents found out they were pregnant, as well as holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas. These gifts are also special at any time of the year since you don't need to wait for a milestone or holiday to reach out and let your loved ones know you are thinking of them and their child.
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Also note: If you're reading this blog post or have read through this series, you're probably an incredibly loving and kind person who wants to demonstrate great empathy and care for your loved ones. It's possible that in wanting to help in the best way possible, you may become overwhelmed. We want to highlight a few things:
- A great way to help your loved ones is to help yourself as well. If you are also personally grieving the death of their child or navigating any other challenging areas in your life, seek out relevant resources to support your own wellbeing (e.g., therapy, support groups, journaling, exercise, etc.)
- Know that you can't do it all, all at once. You may want to show up for your loved ones in every single one of the ways we've described in this series. However, similar to how they say, "It takes a village to raise a child," we say, "It takes a village to support a bereaved parent." Call on other family members and friends to help you help your loved one. Give others specific tasks/ideas for how they can help. Refer them to this blog series to expand their insights on how they can come alongside you to collaboratively support your bereaved loved one.
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Links to previous blog posts in this series:
(Part 1) Practical Ways to Support your Loved One after their Child's Death
(Part 2) Practical Ways to Support your Loved One after their Child's Death
(Part 3) Practical Ways to Support your Loved One after their Child's Death
(Part 4) Practical Ways to Support your Loved One after their Child's Death
(Part 5) Practical Ways to Support your Loved One after their Child's Death
If this series has been helpful in equipping you to better support your loved ones after losing a child, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below, and subscribe to our email list below to stay updated with more helpful content related to grieving, healing, and cherishing memories after the death of a child.