Children express feelings of grief in ways different than adults.  Children tend to move in and out of intense feelings, rather than sustaining high levels of one emotion for a long period of time like adult counterparts.  Adults may notice a grieving child playing or laughing and mistakenly believe that the child has moved beyond their feelings of sadness, but in most cases the grief and feelings of sadness are still present.

Common childhood grieving behaviors:

• Eating habit changes, more or less
• Absentmindedness, distracted easily
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Avoiding places or people who remind one of deceased
• Searching and crying out for the deceased
• Sighing and Crying

For additional information on childhood behaviors relating to grief please contact a
family counselor or therapist in your area.