What are some signs that a child is having difficulty dealing with a death?
If after a couple of weeks or months, they are still talking, yearning and pining for the deceased, talking non-stop, almost obsessed about it, and they’re doing this daily. If they just can’t seem to get on with their lives. If they still believe the person is not actually dead, they believe the deceased is still in the house, they do not trust other people to do things because they keep saying that the deceased did it better than you; they may feel bitter or angry, either they blame themselves for the death or they feel angry with the person for leaving them; feeling emotionally detached or numb (that means, for example, you don’t laugh when people tell you jokes); they can’t concentrate on their homework – these are all symptoms of depression. If you have this sort of situation happening up to about six months after a death, whether it’s a child or parent, than you know they’re not coping well at all. Most children, the younger ones at least, are quite resilient and they get through
