Brinley's Grief Journey
I have to first say that I am not a licensed child therapist/ psychologist. I don't have a degree in child behavior, and I don't know anything about how a child should act medically when it comes to trauma. I just know my daughter. And I can only tell you what I have seen in her since the loss of her brother and best friend.
This post will be strictly facts about how Brinley has been doing, and what is expected to take place as she gets older.
To be completely transparent, I don't know what Brinley witnessed that day. Her version of events, i'm sure, are totally different than my own or anyone else's.
One thing I do know and about things that were given to us, is that Brinley is still young. The concept of things are final for her aren't yet understood. This "step" won't come until later in her young life. Therefore, we will be constantly addressing things with her.
Books:
The Story of (Childs name) - This one is personalized to Declan for Brinley from a friend of ours
We have been continuing to read these books, while I research more. I linked a few on Amazon for when we tire of these.
One thing I would say is that you don't ever want to over stimulate. It is already a hard situation to navigate, and the fact that they are don't fully understand is even harder as a parent to understand.
Weighted Bear:
We were given this from another friend of ours but it has been a saving grace for Brinley. We wrapped in in his blankie so it has a faint smells of him.
But here me out, it is weighted and she used to pick up Declan so in a way when she is playing with the bear, it is like her brother.
There is comfort in that, somehow, at least for her.
Parental Techniques:
I was given two resources from the hospital. They have really helped me to understand how she is thinking. Because grief is so unparalleled, it is hard as parents to really "get" what a child is thinking especially when communication is limited.
Out Came the Sun - you can download a copy!
These two books tell you about "ages" and stages that you will experience when a child is "grieving".
I have found similar to these on Amazon, as well.
I know this may not be the most adequate "child grief" post, but for now this is how far we have come with Brinley.
We are taking it at her pace, and for now she is content with reading books, and small mentions of him.
I will update this post as we continue to coop as a family.
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Until Next Time,
