Latest Siblings Articles
When a Baby or Young Child Dies Suddenly and Unexpectedly
When a baby or young child dies from SIDS, accident or sudden onset illness, the following guidelines may help you in supporting your other children:
Ways to Help Your Other Children
It is possible to reassure your children that you will be okay, even though you are sad now.
Kindergarten and School
Childcare, kindergarten or school can be like a second family to children. Returning after the death of their sister or brother will probably be difficult, but there are some things you can do to help...
Getting Through Your Day
Next to the death of a parent, the death of a brother or sister can be the most traumatic event to occur in a child’s life. When a child dies, most of the support from family and friends is focussed...
Changes Over Time
Grief takes a lot of your energy and it is tiring. Many parents find that it can take up to two years for a normal routine to resume after the death of someone significant in your child’s life. Ther...
Another Baby for Siblings
It is understandable that, like you, your children may become anxious and worried when you have another baby. Often, after the death of a sibling, children may be very protective of their mother durin...
The Bond of Subsequent Children
It seems clear that the brothers and sisters of a child who has died, whether they were born before or after the tragic event, feel a bond with this child. If you decide to talk to your subsequent chi...
Four Important Things to Remember to Help Children
Four important things to remember to help children understand and cope with death: • BE HONEST • BE LOVING • BE AVAILABLE • BE CONSISTENT
Telling Subsequent Children
“One thing that terrifies me about having another child is to have to explain what happened.”1
Special Issues for Siblings
Your other children Your other children will be very deeply affected by the death of their brother or sister and will be grieving in their own way. It is natural that they will also have thoughts a...