Children,Spirituality,and Loss

Abstract

Children face losses, and spirituality can be an important component in managing those bereavements. As each loss is unique, so are the ways of coping, even though children often imitate their parent's ways of grieving. This article presents the view that loss can be an opportunity for growth, wholeness, and holiness. Guidelines to aid children in growing through their losses and in developing styles of healthy grieving are presented. The author claims that spiritual journeys are paths that each must develop and follow through his or her life, as each journey is special and different. One cannot make the journey for children. At best, one can be a spiritual guide.