6. When a family pet dies

Today's special guest is Carrie Kearns, Companion Animal Bereavement Counsellor. 

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Losing a furry (or winged, or scaled...) family member is hard emotionally. It can be difficult to know how to best support your child/ren as they go through their grieving process. And particularly tough for parents who were never able to grieve their own losses as children. 

In this episode you’ll hear:

• The importance of age-appropriate honesty - explain what happened in a way they can clearly understand but which doesn’t frighten them
• Why you need to use the words such as dead, died, death, euthanasia. Communicate the permanence of what happened - if there is any doubt as to whether the pet will return or not then the child will cling to that hope.
• Don’t be ashamed to show your emotions, but also try not to offload onto the child so they feel they have to push their feelings aside to support you. Allow your child to see the effect the loss has on you but also see how you cope, because they may model their behaviour on yours.
• Be prepared for questions and brutal honesty from your child. They say it as it is, and they ask the same questions over and over in the hope that the answer will change. If you are clear and stay to the same response they find it easier to process and move forwards.

You can get in touch with Carrie through her website, Facebook, via Carrie@animalbereavementcounselling.com or phone (0044) (0)7522202498. 

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