Back to contents
#BestForPets
How can you help your child to say goodbye? • If you choose a cremation service for your pet, involve your child in choosing a special casket, urn or ash keepsake • Bring your children to a local pet cemetery or crematorium to lay a memorial. Many aftercare specialists will have bereavement training and will be able to support your family with their questions and concerns • Encourage the whole family to get involved with sharing their feelings through making a scrapbook or memory box with treasured photographs, special toys or written letters to their much-loved pet • Your child may wish to be involved in the scattering of ashes in a special place, or planting flowers or bulbs around their grave
Supporting a child facing the loss of a pet
Answering those ‘difficult questions’… Abbie Thompson is an Aftercare Advisor at Silvermere Haven Pet Cemetery & Crematorium , and has shared some helpful answers to some of the difficult questions your child may ask, when the time comes. At the crematorium in Surrey, the team are trained in pet bereavement and understand the importance of caring for a beloved family pet, including how to support children through this difficult time. “Here at Silvermere we always encourage families to bring their children during their visit, or even when they bring their pet to us, as it sometimes helps children come to the sad realisation that their pet has died, but will be carefully looked after by one our aftercare advisors.
For children, the experience of losing their life-long companion can feel overwhelming
Emotions such as anger, regret, loneliness and grief are normal during this difficult time, and it’s important to consider how your child may be feeling. Be honest with them, encourage sharing feelings together as a family and never underestimate how important the relationship with their pet was. Blue Cross suggests a number of ways to support a child, including how to include your child in discussing option or making decisions about how to remember a beloved companion.
Pets play an important role in a child’s family; a best friend, source of comfort and bring happiness to the entire household. For many young people, the loss of a pet may be their first experience of death. For parents, there may be some difficult questions to answer. Depending on the age of the child, they may perceive death differently. Children under two years of age may not understand what has happened, but realise that their companion has gone missing. For older children, they may be fully aware that death is final and could ask questions surrounding aftercare, such as cremation or burial.
‘ How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.’ ” We always encourage children to write or draw in our Remembrance Book, which can be so comforting during this difficult time. The following quote has always stuck with me when it comes to facing the loss of a pet:
34
35
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online