Jurnal
Grief of Children At Preschool Age
Grief is someone’s response to loss. In children, the effect of loss is identical with adults, but they express the grief differently and this is hard to be understood by adults. Children’s understanding of death depends on their age and stage of development. This paper will discuss about grief of children at preschool age (2-5 years old) including the differences between ‘normal grief’ and ‘complicated grief’, the symptoms ‘complicated grief’, and the management. It is important to discuss grief of children at this age because the effect may progress to the next stage of development. Grieving children could suffer from certain emotional and behavioral symptoms that could persist into adolescent and adulthood. Method: a comprehensive literature search was conducted using electronic searching tools and databases: MEDLINE (EBSCO), CINAHL, Joanna Briggs Institute (Ovid), Proquest (Nursing and Allied Health Source), Pubmed, find@flinders, and Google Scholar. Discussion: The distinction between normal and complicated grief was related to the intensity and duration of the grief, and to the reactions having a negative functional impact on the child. Managing grief of preschool age children could be by storytelling, arts, music, dance/movement therapy, play, interact with the child by using toys and games, painting, old photos, and memorabilia. Conclusion: The permanency of death is a very difficult concept to grasp for children at preschool age. They may still think that the deceased will return. The effectiveness of the treatment is depending on the choice of interventions which appropriate for the child as each child is unique. Providing physical comfort, emotional support, communication and reassurance that they are cherished and not alone are the critical points in assessing grieving children at preschool age.
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