How Parents Cope When a Child Dies

One of the most traumatic things that a parent can go through is losing a child to death. Whether your child is very young, or an adult, the pain is still the same. Many parents go beyond the common feelings that accompany the loss of a loved one. If has been described as the ultimate and most devastating loss anyone can experience. It is especially hard on the mother.

Not that the father does not feel anything for the loss of a child, but the grief that a mother feels is very bitter grief. The father will most likely hold back from openly expressing their emotions. Fathers are usually focused on caring for their wife during this difficult time. By doing this it also helps the father to better cope. Sometimes a bereaved parent comes to have a sense of guilt. Maybe asking them, should I have let him go, or did he know how much I truly loved him or her?

It is very natural for both parents to feel this way when they lose their child. But it would be wrong for a parent to feel like they have failed to do something that could have prevented the death. During a time when most people need as much support as they can get from family and friends, this is the time when a lot of friends tend to stay away.

Mostly because they are not sure what to say during this difficult time. When a baby dies the feelings are even more intense, then they would be if it were and adult. There are many women who experience several miscarriages. And although the baby is not born yet, they go through the same emotions as would any parent. Often, parents feel incomplete, and will isolate themselves from everyone.

It is understandable for a parent to feel uncomfortable around other pregnant women, or mothers with their children. Some even feel angry, or embarrassed, and sometimes even humiliated. The best way you can help someone who has lost a child, is to just be there. Try not to be so worried about what to say; just being in their company is enough. And even though they may tell you that they want to be left alone, don’t leave them alone. If they isolate themselves, they will only add to the pain that they are feeling. There are thousands of tragedies that occur everyday that can cause your children to be taken away from you or someone you know and love.

There is no real textbook solution on how to cope with the loss of a child, and unfortunately it is something that we currently have to deal with. But in my own personal opinion thee is one thing that will help and that is the bible. In the bible there is hope for seeing your children again, not in heaven but right here on the earth. Read your bible and you will find comfort. It is the only source that has proven to help those that are grieving.