Book Review: The Forgotten Mourners. Guidelines for Working with Bereaved Children. By Sister Margaret Pannells, and Susan C Smith. London, UK, and Bristol, Pennsylvania: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1995, No. of pages 64, £6.95, ISBN 1853022640
✍ Scribed by Deluca, Paolo
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Weight
- 214 KB
- Volume
- 5
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1057-3593
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Children do grieve, but still some adults feel that children do not grieve at all; or others may interpret children's reaction in a distorted way. In fact, adults often fail to recognize children's behaviou as that of grief. And even if they do recognize that children can have strong feelings such as anger or resentment, their reaction is often the wish to protect these children from their emotions. Failure to recognize and deal with these problems can lead, at worst, to a disturbed child and, at best, to a very unhappy and unfulfilled childhood.
This short book explains in a simple manner how children grieve, and how they understand and react to death. It examines the thought processes and coping behaviours of children dealing with bereavement. Moreover, the authors present a developmental state framework for children's understanding of death and interpreting the complexity of children's responses to death. As the authors suggest children younger than 2 years old will experience a sense of loss but will not be able to understand the permanence of that loss. Between the ages of 2 and 4 children will have a greater understanding of the concept of death but will be easily confused by explanations, and they often believe that death remains reversible. Children aged 5 to 9 become more curious about death and the rituals surrounding it, and also more aware of other people's responses. Between the ages of 9 and 12 children understand the finality of death and may become frightened by recognition of the