![]() ![]() You could even create a shadow box and fill it with your pet’s collar, tags, photos, or other special keepsakes. Alternatively, you could place photos of your pet in a special place in your home. Or you can create a scrapbook for the entire family, allowing each person to participate in its creation. ![]() To create a visual reminder for your kids, consider gathering up photos of your pet and allowing them to each create a scrapbook. They help us recall what we might otherwise forget. That’s one reason why visual reminders are so powerful. After a period of time, we begin to forget – what our old house looked like, what our first grade teacher looked like, what our childhood pet looked like. The ceremony would allow you as a family to reinforce the importance of your pet’s life while also intentionally marking its death. You could choose to bury your pet with his favorite toy or bedding or even invite your child to make an item to bury with your pet. This could be as simple as having a small family gathering with a few words spoken, or you could invite friends and neighbors to take part, turning the event into a full celebration of your pet’s life. If this is the case for you, chat with your child about planning a small burial or memorial ceremony for your household pet. While funerals do not bring an end to grief, they are an important rite of passage and give us a certain measure of comfort. This activity will make you laugh and cry, but most of all, it will bond you together in your grief and allow each of you to talk about your feelings for your pet. Remember the moments when the dog knocked over the card table, dumping the contents, or laugh about the times you bathed the cat, making him look like a drowned rat. Tell the funny stories that you all know. ![]() Let’s start off with something simple, easy, and good for everyone – sharing stories and allowing each family member to tell stories about the family pet. The most important thing is to allow your family the opportunity to mourn and express the feelings of sadness that may be growing inside. Or, if you’re comfortable with it and feel that it’s right for the entire family, do them together. You may do some with a younger child and others with an older child. 10 Family-Focused Pet Remembrance Ideasīefore we begin, it’s important to take your child’s age into account when selecting any of these activities for your family. Let’s discuss 10 family- and kid-focused ways to remember and memorialize a pet that will help focus your and your child’s grief in productive and healthy ways, allowing everyone to say goodbye, process the pain of loss, and move toward healing. As an adult, if you are open, honest and loving, experiencing the death of a pet can be a chance for children to learn about both the joy and the pain that comes from caring deeply for pets or for people.” This is a lesson they will take long into their adulthood and will pave the way for healthy grieving habits. And many children love their pets with all their hearts. ![]() Wolfelt, a noted grief educator and counselor, “ Any child old enough to love is old enough to grieve. Helping children remember, memorialize, and properly grieve a beloved pet teaches them how to process grief in a healthy way so they can do it again the next time the pain of loss visits them.Īccording to Dr. For many children, losing a pet will be the first experience they have with the pain of loss. As a parent, following the loss of a pet, it’s valuable to help your child learn how to mourn and grieve the loss. When we lose one of our furry family members, every person in the family is affected, some more than others. ![]()
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