Parenting Through Grief: The impossible state of needing while giving
Dec 21, 2023
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Marisa Renee Lee, author of 'Grief Is Love,' discusses navigating grief while parenting and the challenges of balancing personal sorrow and creating a joyful experience for children. They emphasize the importance of normalizing big emotions, honesty and communication with children, and supporting kids through the mourning process.
Grief during the holiday season presents unique challenges, requiring a delicate balance between personal grief and creating a joyful experience for children.
It is important to be honest with children about one's own grief, providing age-appropriate explanations and modeling emotions to help them navigate their own grief.
Deep dives
Grief and the Holidays
The podcast episode explores the complex nature of grief during the holiday season. While holidays are associated with joy and celebration, they can also serve as reminders of the loved ones we have lost. The host, Emily Oster, shares her personal experience of grieving her mother and how traditions and memories can evoke an intense sense of longing. The episode highlights the challenges of balancing personal grief while trying to create a joyful holiday experience for children. The importance of finding support from friends and those who understand grief is emphasized.
Managing Grief as Parents
In this episode, Emily Oster engages in a conversation with Marissa Renee Lee, an author who wrote a book about grief and loss. They discuss strategies for managing grief while navigating the demands of parenting. The podcast emphasizes the significance of being an example to children, allowing them to witness and understand complex emotions associated with grief. It is important to teach children that it is okay to fall apart and feel a range of emotions. The concept of grief as an ongoing process, rather than something that can be overcome or ended, is explored.
Being Honest with Kids about Grief
The podcast delves into the question of how much information and honesty to provide children about grief. The importance of being honest with children about one's own feelings and emotions is highlighted, as children are perceptive and can create their own narratives if they do not have accurate information. The podcast offers insights from a clinical psychologist, emphasizing the significance of providing age-appropriate explanations and context for children. The hosts share personal experiences and provide tips on how to navigate conversations about grief with children.
Children's Grief and Emotions
This episode explores the topic of children experiencing their own grief. The podcast recognizes that children can also grieve and feel a range of emotions. The hosts emphasize the importance of acknowledging and validating children's sadness and creating space for them to process their grief. The significance of modeling emotions and encouraging children to hold conflicting emotions is discussed. The episode highlights the importance of supporting children as they navigate their own grief, whether it is related to the loss of a loved one or other life experiences.
Grief can mean a lot of different things, from the loss of a loved one to the loss of a much-wanted pregnancy or marriage. It’s a heavy topic for the holidays, but this can also be a tough time when you’re dealing with loss.
Today on ParentData, writer Marisa Renee Lee gets into the heart of grief - which, from a data perspective, will affect approximately 100% of us - in her book "Grief Is Love." She discusses the need for parents to give, and to take, while weathering the waves of loss, and love.
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