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5 TIPS FOR HELPING CHILDREN DEAL WITH SAD TIMES

Today we are going to talk about helping children deal with sad times. Life isn’t always perfect and children learn that early on in life. Though life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, there are ways you can help your child deal with sad times in their life. Whether a pet dies, a friend moves away, or a divorce takes place here are 5 tips for helping children deal with sad times.

tips for helping children deal with hard times. Loss of pet, friend moving away, divorce...

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HELPING CHILDREN DEAL WITH SAD TIMES

ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO BE SAD: Sadness is a part of life and much like the movie Inside Out (affiliate link to the movie), sadness is an emotion we all need to experience. Although sadness may feel like a bad thing, it is what helps us to understand empathy, remorse and allows us to understand the world around us. Let your child know it’s ok to be sad.

COMFORT THEM IN THEIR SADNESS: Just allowing your children to be sad isn’t enough. They need to know that their sadness is validated. Show them love, compassion, and empathy through this time. Giving hugs, doing special things, and praying for your child are all great ways to help your children feel comforted.

EXPLAIN WHY IT’S NOT THEIR FAULT: As children, we don’t always understand why something happens. Many children will blame themselves for not being good enough or for something they did. Explain that sometimes things just happen and it isn’t anyone’s fault.

SHOW THEM THEY AREN’T ALONE: Even as adults, we can feel like we are the only one going through something. Talk to your children and let them know that they aren’t alone. Tell them of things that happened to you that made you sad, talk to other kids who have went through the same thing. Having others around that understand the sadness helps.

HELP YOUR CHILDREN EXPRESS THEIR EMOTIONS: Bottling up emotions leads to stress, anxiety, and depression later in life. Help your child to express their emotions positively by sharing why they are sad, writing a letter, or keeping a journal. Establishing healthy outlets early on helps your children deal with the sadness of life as they get older.

It’s not easy helping children deal with sad times. Sadness is a hard emotion, but it is one just as important as happiness.

What ways have you helped your child through sadness?

tips for helping a child deal with sadness

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You may also like this post on TATTLING vs. TELLING – TEACHING THE DIFFERENCE:

Why do kids tattle? How do we teach them the difference between tattling and telling?

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