Letting children express themselves...
Posted by Amanda , Tuesday, March 23, 2010 3:33 PM
I read a recent article about the affects that losing a parent/both parents has on a child, even as they grow up. Adults still deal with their feelings and emotions of losing a parent when they were young. Many times children do not have outlets for their feelings after a parent dies. I find that when these tradgedies happen, we tend to overlook the children and their feelings. We don't let them process enough and think that maybe since they are so young, it doesn't really affect them. But it does and the results show up even in adulthood. I think it's also the same when it comes to divorce. Divorces are so common these days and I think we tend to forget the affect they have on children. They need healthy, productive ways to process their thoughts and feelings, or they will shut it inside. If they never have an opportunity to deal with their feelings and hurts, they will carry it with them for the rest of their lives and it will greatly affect what kind of person they turn out to be.
I just can't get over how easily it slips past us that our childhood affects who we are as people. We seem to forget the fact that most things that happened in our childhood have shaped who we are today. And so we forget that the children that are growing up around us are being shaped into future adults and that the everyday circumstances of their lives are important. How they deal with their feelings is important. How they are treated is important. It's important to let them be children, let them be vulnerable and open, let them be themselves.
If you would like to check out the article, here it is: Kids who lose parents still grieve as adults
