Nursery World - Barnardo's launches campaign to help parents talk to children about bereavement

Advice for parents and carers on how to help children cope with the death of a family member during the Covid-19 pandemic is being given by a children’s charity as more children than usual will currently be experiencing bereavement.

A still from Barnardo's new TV campaign Believe in Me campaign, which highlights the importance of support services for children and young people who have experienced bereavement

The guidance is being released by Barnardo’s in response to there being more than 140,000 deaths from Covid-19 in the UK during the past year.

The charity has provided seven tips for helping a child to cope with the death of someone that they are close to:

Parents and other adults need to help children understand the concept of death and this is best done by giving your child clear, age-appropriate, honest information on a frequent basis.

It is important to try to use the word ‘dead’ or ‘death’ rather than phrases such as ‘gone to sleep’, ‘lost’ or ‘gone to a better place’ because these phrases can cause confusion for young children and lead to unnecessary anxiety.

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