Helping Kids Through Grief with Sissy Goff

Because kids experience and express grief differently than adults, we can feel unprepared to handle our kids' emotions. We hardly know how to grieve ourselves, so how can we help our kids through the death of a loved one or divorce?

Arlene talks with counselor and New York Times Bestselling Author, Sissy Goff about her new book, Helping Kids Through Grief: A Parent's Guide for Making Sense of Death, Processing Loss, and Finding Hope. As a therapist with over 30 years of experience, Sissy has seen firsthand the impact of grief on kids and families, and she's here to offer guidance and hope.

Sissy discusses the importance of understanding the grieving process, how to validate a child's emotions, and the value of creating memories to honor loved ones who have passed away. We'll also explore the differences in how boys and girls grieve, and how to support kids through various types of loss, from the death of a loved one to the end of a sports season.

03:00 – Why Sissy wrote the book and the sixth stage of grief: meaning

06:10 – Anger and "all feelings are okay, but not all behaviors"

07:12 – What to say to a grieving child: "It won't always feel like this"

10:32 – Kids grieve in doses

11:57 – Answering "When is Papa coming back?"

13:18 – How boys and girls grieve differently

14:44 – Divorce and secondary losses

20:21 – Keeping memories alive with memory boxes

23:00 – When the parent is grieving too: accepting help from community

Get Sissy Goff's book, Helping Kids Through Grief, and learn more at RaisingBoysandGirls.com

Push back against too much screen time and read Arlene's new book, The Great Tech Reset: Reclaiming Real Life for Christian Families. Free while supplies last from Summit Ministries TechResetBook.com

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