role of the father or mother they have lost in the home. Watch for this behavior. Although being supportive and encouraging to younger siblings is a good thing there is a fine line between them taking on too much responsibility and no longer experiencing their childhood. One type of relationship in particular, the rela- tionship between siblings, is unique. When a sibling dies, children may feel like they lost a best friend, a playmate and someone who loves and comforts them. Siblings often share a similar history and experience, building bonds that can potentially last a lifetime. Even at their worst, sibling relationships are significant and can negatively impact the life of a surviving sibling when the relationship is severed. Perhaps the most profound effects of the death of a sibling are the changes in the functioning and the struc- ture of the family. When a child dies, parents are overcome with grief and may have difficulty performing their respective roles as a caregiver. Surviving children are left wondering what is going on or what they should do. Sometimes their response to a death seems inappropriate to adults, and children can develop a sense that their grief is wrong. Ultimately they may begin to feel that they don’t belong or that they don’t fit in. In some families, a surviving child may become a target for a parent’s anger over the death of a child. In other families, a surviving child may be overprotected by a parent’s intense fear of los- ing another child or neglected all together as the parent focuses on the death of the other child. Still other parents may prohibit any discussion regarding the child who died. A grieving child’s response to the death of a brother or sister is heavily dependent, then, upon interactions with parents or other caregivers.
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