“I Wish That Mommy Never Dies” Helping My Preschooler Cope with Grief and Loss

As I handed my son pennies to toss into the water, I had no idea that he would have such a powerful wish: “I wish that Mommy never dies.”

While visiting family during Christmas break, we decided to grab a bite to eat. I saw a fountain that would be a great distraction for my impatient 4 and a half-year old, while we waited to be seated. As I handed my son pennies to toss into the water, I had no idea that he would have such a powerful wish.

“I wish that Mommy never dies.”

His words took my breath away, as I just stood there with a handful of copper pennies that were meant for garbage trucks, police cars and Legos.

Our family had experienced 4 deaths in just a short ten months and my son was realizing the permanence of these deaths.

As a child life specialist that works to support children’s grief, I was witnessing my own son’s emotional torture of understanding death, coping with his fear of loss and trying to understand why his French Bulldog couldn’t come back from heaven.

When we returned home from vacation, his grief began to manifest and triggered some separation anxiety. His transition back to school was challenging, bedtime was a struggle and I noticed that he was constantly following me around the house.

One night before bed he asked me if I was going to die. Part of me wanted to say, “No, never. Don’t think like that.” However, I took the alternative route of responding with empathy.

“You are so worried that something will happen to me. You love me so much and don’t want me to leave.”

He knew that I understood his fears and I was giving him permission to express them.

Our conversation continued with lots of reassurance on how I take good care of my body and will hopefully live to be 100. We ended our talk with lots of giggles, cuddles and reminders that no matter where we are in the world, we are always connected.

After I put him to bed I had a plan in my head to help him work through his grief and cope with the separation issues. So this is what I did:

Lots of validation-  As soon as he began to get slightly upset about going to school, I named and validated his feelings. “You really don’t want to leave Mommy. You miss me so much when you are at school. I miss you too.”

Normalize his emotions- I try to then follow up the validation with normalizing his thoughts and feelings. “It is so hard to go back to school after such a long break. Lots of kids feel the same way.”

One on one time- I make sure to spend some extra time with him each day. We sit and eat lunch together, I hold his hand and carry him around while I smother him with kisses.

Play- I get on the floor and play with him using a child-centered approach. I let him lead the play, choose the activity and give him as much control as possible. I narrate what he is doing, name feelings and just stay present in the moment. It is a nice way for us to both feel reconnected.

Communication- I don’t want his teachers to become frustrated with him as he struggles to separate from me at school. I am very honest about the deaths and let them know that  we are helping him work through it.

Activities– I provide him with a variety of activities that promote self-expression, coping strategies and memory making around the losses.

The other day he was getting worked up about going to school, so I introduced him to an  activity about staying connected.

First I read him the beautifully written and illustrated children’s book, The Invisible String, by Patrice Karst. It instantly resonated with him. Then using construction paper, markers and lanyard, I helped him create his own invisible string

He had lots of choices during the activity of what color paper, markers, freedom to draw whatever he liked, and the length of the string (which ended up being 8 feet). He then practiced  pulling on the string, as I acted out the tug from my heart. His face lit up with a  smile and I knew that he was beginning to feel a bit more safe.

Grief is hard to deal with, but if you allow kids to feel and express the unpleasant emotions through empathy, play and patience, they will develop healthy coping strategies and resilience.