Lane Pease Hendricks and Nancy Kriseman from Kate's Club Share Tips for Widowed Parents

I had such a great discussion with Lane Pease Hendricks and Nancy Kriseman from Kate’s Club for this episode. Lane and Nancy have a brand new book for widowed parents and others who are raising grieving kids. They are with Kate’s Club, a leading grief program for kids and families, so they really know their stuff. I am so excited to bring you this discussion to kick off this year’s Children’s Grief Awareness Month.

Some topics Lane and Nancy and I discuss include:

• Myths and facts about grief;

• How different types of losses can sometimes lead to different types of grief reactions;

• The importance of being honest with kids, including some examples of language to use;

• That it’s ok for adults to show their feelings to their kids, and that it’s important to model that we can be both sad and that we can cope;

• The importance of finding a circle of support;

• Suggestions for talking with both teenagers and younger kids;

• The importance of not ‘parentifying’ teens;

• Why it’s important for parents to make room for their own grief;

• The need to reassure kids of all ages that their parent’s death is not their fault;

• Kids re-grieving as they grow and experience developmental milestones; and

• What it means to develop continuing bonds with our deceased loved ones.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Lane Pease Hendricks and Nancy Kriseman.

Links & resources for this episode

• We Come Together As One, by Lane Pease Hendricks and Nancy Kriseman

• Kate’s Club

• Episode 64: Lane Hendricks on widowed parenting of infants and young kids

• Episode 11: Lane Pease from Kate’s Club on building resilience in kids after loss

• Find grief support: Search at dougy.org and the National Alliance for Children’s Grief

More links for listeners

• Download: Kids & Grief: What You Need to Know

• Article: I’m a Widowed Mom: Here Are My 3 Tips for COVID-19 Widows

• Book: Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another

Thank you sponsors & partners:

Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk

BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent

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