Telling a child or young person that someone important to them has died is difficult enough. Explaining a death involving drug or alcohol use, whether from substance misuse, addiction or accidental overdose, can be challenging. Often, our instinct is to protect children by not telling them, but we know from our experience it can be helpful to tell a child or young person how the person died, in a way that they will understand. Our team at Winston’s Wish offer guidance on how to explain death by drugs or alcohol to a child or young person, including:

• Use age-appropriate language they can understand
• Make sure they understand what death is first
• Give a clear, honest explanation of how that person died if that feels appropriate
• Build up information and let them ask questions
• Talk about their feelings and offer reassurance

Use age-appropriate language they can understand

The depth and complexity of the conversation should match a child’s developmental level. Younger children need simpler explanations and language, while teenagers can understand more complex information. It’s important to use terminology they are familiar with and clear language like ‘death’ and ‘died’. Although it can feel uncomfortable to use these words, terms like ‘lost’, ‘passed away’ or ‘gone to sleep’ can be confusing, especially for younger children who may take things literally. If they are lost, then why don’t we go and find them? If they have ‘gone to sleep’, will I disappear if I go to sleep?

Start with a simple explanation of what death is

Very young children may not know what it means to be alive or dead, and often won’t fully understand the permanence of death until around the age of nine. Children and young people need to hear factual, clear language about the concept of death. It can be helpful to say something like:

“[Name of person] has died and when someone dies this mean they are not alive anymore. Their heart has stopped beating and their body has stopped working. They have died and this very sadly means we won’t see them again.”

Talking about the natural life cycle of every living thing can be helpful for young children. You could find both alive and dead bugs and ask them to tell you the difference between them. This will give them a good visual representation of what death means. Get full step-by-step instructions on using insects to explain death here.

Continued below…

How to tell a child someone has died

How to help children understand grief

Give a clear explanation of how they died

You may think you are protecting a child or young person by not telling them that their important person died because of drugs or alcohol. However, children can feel confused if they have questions about the person’s death and don’t have the answers. They may also look for answers in another way – maybe online, rumours or overhearing conversations – and therefore have half an understanding about how the person died. So, it may be helpful to hear the truth about how the person died in a way they understand from someone they trust.

When explaining how someone died to a child, take into account their age, level of understanding and how ready they are for this information. If they are asking you questions about how they died, then it might be a sign that they are ready for the answer.

Explaining a death due to drugs or alcohol addiction

Naming it as an addition and giving an explanation about what an addiction is can be the first step. For example:

“An addiction is when you can’t stop yourself from doing something even though you might really want to. It is an illness in your brain.”

You can then add in further context, for example:

“They [use their name] died from an illness in their brain/mind called alcoholism.” Or “They died from a drug overdose because of their addiction.”

“They were very unwell in their brain. This meant even though they really wanted to stop drinking alcohol/taking drugs they couldn’t because they were addicted to it. Taking too much alcohol or drugs can seriously affect your body and unfortunately for them, their heart stopped beating their body stopped working, and they died.”

Explaining a death by accidental overdose

“On the day they died, they did something very dangerous that you should never do. We think they accidentally took too much of a medicine/drug [name it if you feel it’s appropriate]. Taking too much of a medicine/drug can seriously affect your body. Unfortunately for them, because of taking to much of a medicine/drug, their heart stop beating, their body stopped working and they died.”

Explaining a death by intentional overdose

Explaining that someone took their own life by deliberately taking an overdose of a drug or medicine can feel impossible. You could start with:

“They had a poorly mind. They were unwell in their mind with an illness called depression. Their illness made their thinking not work properly and on the day they died, their thinking told them they shouldn’t be alive anymore. They did something very dangerous that you should never do. They took too much of a medicine/drug [name it if you feel it’s appropriate] because they knew this would make their heart stop beating, their body stop working, and they would die. They took too much medicine/drug to make themselves die.”

Read our guidance on explaining suicide to a child for more ideas.

Continued below…

Understanding how children grieve

What do children and young people understand about death?

Building up information

You may need to give some information about what drugs are. You could explain that drugs, a bit like medicines, are something that change the way a person’s body works. There are medicines which can be found in shops, some medicines are given to you by a doctor, and there are some drugs that are illegal (illegal means that you are not allowed to take them) and they can affect the way people think or act.

Discuss responsible choices

Emphasise the importance of making choices that keep our bodies and minds healthy. For teenagers and young adults, you could have a discussion about why it’s important not to take any substances with the supervision of a trained adult or doctor.

Talk about their feelings

Death often brings up intense emotions. Assure them that it’s okay to feel upset, confused, or scared and that it’s important to talk about these feelings. If they knew the person who died, allow them to grieve and express their emotions in whatever way is best for them. Children can often feel that they were responsible for an important person’s death. So, reassure them that they didn’t cause them to take drugs or drink alcohol.

Offer reassurance

Make sure to tell them that most people do not die from using alcohol or drugs and that there are many ways people work to stay safe and healthy. Reinforce that you and other adults they trust are there to keep them safe.

Let them ask questions

Let them know you are here for them when they want to talk. Encourage them to ask any questions they may have and to come to you if they hear or see anything about drugs or alcohol that worries them.

Remember, every child is unique and their understanding and ability to process their emotions will vary. These explanations are aimed at making a difficult topic more understandable for children and young people. Be patient and provide reassurance and support throughout the conversation.

Getting professional grief support from Winston’s Wish

Winston’s Wish is a charity that helps children, teenagers and young adults (up to the age of 25) find their feet when their worlds are turned upside down by grief. Through information, on-demand services, bereavement support and counselling, we support young people to understand their feelings, process their grief and find ways to move forward with hope for a brighter future. All of our support is available online, so we can support children and young people across the UK no matter where they live. We also help the adults who are caring for young grieving people including parents, school staff and healthcare professionals.

If you are supporting a child or young person who is struggling with their grief, please call our Freephone Helpline team on 08088 020 021 (8am -8pm, weekdays), email ask@staging.winstonswish.org or use our live chat (8am-8pm, weekdays). We are here to help and can provide advice, support, and resources.

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Deaths caused by an accident can be difficult to understand because they are so sudden and you may not know how or why it has happened. Telling a child or young person that someone has died is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do and can be even more difficult if it was a sudden accidental death. Our team at Winston’s Wish offer their guidance on telling a child or young person that someone important to them has died in an accident.

Give clear and honest information

You may not have all the information as to what happened and how the person died, however, it helps children to be given as much information as possible so they can begin to understand what has happened. It’s important to be clear with your children and to give them the opportunities to ask questions.

For example, you might say:

“I’ve got some sad news to tell you. Mummy was on her way to work in her car and there was an accident. Another car hit Mummy’s car and she died.”

Knowing how the accident happened is important for children and young people, as it helps them to piece together why their loved one died. They are likely to have lots of thoughts in their head, and so being given factual information is important. Although some parents may feel they don’t want to overwhelm their child with too much detail, the child may be making up the missing information in their heads – which could be more distressing than the truth – or feel confused or scared because they don’t have all the details.

Supporting children and young people after a sudden, violent or traumatic death

What do children understand about death?

Bereavement support for families after someone dies in an accident

Tell them new information as you get it

If you don’t know how the accident happened, be honest and explain this to your child. For example, you could say:

“We don’t know yet how the accident happened. Sometimes, accidents happen because people drive too fast, or someone wasn’t concentrating. Sometimes, we don’t know why accidents happen.”

It can also help the child to know that they will be told any more information in the future, once it is known. For example, you could say:

“We don’t know much about the accident at the moment, but if I find out anything more, I will tell you.”

It is important to keep children updated with any further information, as this will help make clear what happened to their loved one.

You may also want to ask your children what questions they have about the accident, as they may be worried about something you haven’t thought about.

How might they react?

You may find that at the time, your children don’t seem to respond to the news. You might expect them to be upset or angry after they have been told such sad news, however they may ask for a biscuit or to watch their favourite programme. This is a very common way for children to respond to such huge news.

It may be that they want to ask questions a few days later, or that you find they suddenly mention the accident during conversation.

It is also very natural for children to want to avoid being in similar situations to the accident. They might be afraid of travelling in cars or buses, or avoid water. Acknowledge that their fears are reasonable but that you will ensure they are safe. Where possible, explain what is different in this situation compared to the accident.

Talk about feelings

It may be hard for younger children to understand the news of the death of a someone important, especially a sudden accidental death, and it may seem that, initially, they don’t seem to be upset. Explaining to them that this is sad news can be helpful, as well as allowing the child to see the adults around them being upset.

As the reality sinks in for your child they will start to have more feelings of anger, upset, fear, shock or numbness. Knowing that these feelings are normal, and knowing that others are also feeling the same, can help them to feel less worried about their difficult feelings. If adults have talked to children about the feelings they might have, this will help the child to know there is an adult they can talk to when they are struggling with their grief.

Should children attend a funeral?

Should children view the body of a loved one?

When a child or young person witnessed the accident

Your child may have been present during the accident, or have been involved in the accident themselves. This may add to their feelings of fear and distress. It will be important to reassure them that feeling upset, anxious and frightened after the accident are normal feelings to have. You may find that their behaviour changes due to this, and they require additional reassurance. It may be help to find ways for them to express how they are feelings, such as through drawing, exercise or play.

Viewing the body

In some case where the family member has died in an accident, it can be helpful for your children, and other family members, to see the body. It can help them to understand the death of a loved one. Funeral directors can make this possible in almost all situations – for example, they might reveal the hand of the person who died.

Parents often worry that children will be left with the image of a person’s body and that it will be scary. Preparation is key. Often a child’s imagination about what someone will look like after they have died is worse than the reality.

The decision to view the body of a loved one who has died is a very personal choice for both adults and children. The important thing is that a child or young person is given the choice and that this is an informed choice – they need to understand what viewing the body will mean. There is more information about preparing children to see a body here.

Where to get support after an accidental death

Winston’s Wish has supported many children, young people and families after someone has died in an accident. Our expert teams are on hand to offer advice, guidance and bereavement support on a one-off or ongoing basis, depending on your family’s needs. We also run online Grief Support Groups where bereaved young people can connect with each other.

If you need advice on supporting a child or young person who has been bereaved, you can contact us by:

• Call: 08088 020 021 (8am-8pm, Monday-Friday)
• Email: ask@staging.winstonswish.org
• Use our online chat
• For out of hours mental help support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout. For urgent support in a crisis, please call 999.

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Telling a child or young person that their mum, dad, brother or sister has died is difficult enough, let alone telling them their loved one has been murdered. It can be tempting to shield them from the details of a violent death, however police and media involvement means that the details will quickly become public knowledge. It’s very likely that children will find out somehow – in the media, on social media, overheard conversations. You will probably prefer that they hear what happened from you rather than from rumours or from another child in the playground.

Be there to reassure your children

You will, of course, want to protect your children and to let them know they can trust you. If at all possible, a parent or carer is generally the best person to tell their children this difficult news. It will also give you a chance to reassure them that they are safe. If you are just not able to do this, then be with the children when someone else, for example the police family liaison officer, tells them.

It may be that the child witnessed the death. In this situation, it is particularly important to talk clearly about what happened to acknowledge the truth of what they saw and heard. It is also necessary to reassure the child that the death was not their fault and there was nothing they could have done to prevent it.

Supporting children and young people after a sudden, violent or traumatic death

Bereavement support following a homicide

Give them age-appropriate information

It is really important that children have a clear understanding (as far as their age allows) that the person has died. Even young children need an explanation about what has happened to someone who is important to them. The worst has already happened – nothing you can say can make it any worse.

It can help even very young children to have a simple story that they can use to re-tell and slowly make sense of what has happened. Use words they understand. Always ask them what they think about what you have said to make sure that they have actually understood. For younger children, information in small chunks may be easier to understand.

Young children may not need to know the exact details of how the person was murdered when it first happens. It will be possible to return to this as the child’s understanding develops and they seek more information.

“Now you are a little older, I’d like to tell you some more about how your Auntie Becs died. I told you that she was killed by the man who was her boyfriend. Can I now tell you what happened on that day and how she died?”

Be honest

Events surrounding murder can often become very confused. Facts may be changed to become more comfortable to live with – or to make them easier to explain. It may be, for example, that children have been previously unaware of a parent’s activities which have since become public knowledge. It may seem like the worst possible time to talk about this but giving the children an honest explanation will help them make sense of what they are hearing and what is happening.

“I haven’t told you before but your dad was using drugs and selling them to other people. That’s why we were arguing a lot and that’s probably why he was killed.”

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Build up information in stages

Our experience shows that there may be stages involved in telling a child that someone has died as a result of violence. These stages may happen in the space of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or even years. The pace between the stages is often led by the child’s needs and their ability to understand. This, in turn, is affected by their age and developmental understanding. The pace will also be affected by the situation, for example, the possibility of your child finding out what has happened from other sources or from older members of the family.

The stages may be:

1. Explaining that the person has died
2. Giving simple details about the death
3. Saying that the person died as a result of homicide
4. Providing a more detailed description of how the person died
5. Explaining the process that will be followed – and what will happen next
6. Talking about the person who committed the crime – or, if not known, what is being done to find them.

This all takes time. It needs to be handled with care, giving children the chance to say how they are feeling.

Let them know it’s ok to ask questions

You may want to ask your child if they would like to know more details and then be guided by their response. If a child says they do not want to hear more just now, they need to know that they can come back to you for more information. Then again, you may decide that your child cannot handle any more information at the moment. It is important then to let them know that you will tell them more another time – and then to do this.

If a child asks a question about what has happened, they are usually ready to hear the answer. However, supportive adults may need to anticipate the questions and anxieties a child may have in their head and take responsibility for initiating these conversations.

A child may not ask a question, or talk about the person, or express an emotion because they are concerned about upsetting you or other family members. Without these opportunities, however, their anxieties and emotions may come out in other ways, for example in behaviour, withdrawal or risk-taking.

Where to get support

If you need advice on supporting a child or young person bereaved by homicide, you can call us on 08088 020 021 (8am-8pm, weekdays), email us on ask@staging.winstonswish.org or use our live chat (8am-8pm, weekdays).

For out of hours mental help support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout. For urgent support in a crisis, please call 999.

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When someone in your life dies, feelings of grief can be overwhelming. These feelings may be even more difficult to handle if the death is traumatic, sudden or violent. There are many types of traumatic death – it could be through an accident, illness, terrorism, murder, manslaughter or suicide.

Is grief after a traumatic death different?

While some of the feelings associated with traumatic death may be similar, everyone is unique and may experience things differently to that of another family member. The way the person died may also play a part in the way someone feels and behaves. Each person will have their own unique experience of grief.

When the death of someone in your life is traumatic or sudden, it can be difficult to take in and to make sense of what has happened. You may feel a sense of disbelief or numbness. This can be especially difficult for children, particularly if they do not know or understand the circumstances of the person’s death.

Some people experience feelings of guilt, irritability or anger, others may have difficulty concentrating. When a child experiences a bereavement, particularly if this is a traumatic loss, they may have fears about their own safety or the safety of other important people in their lives. It helps to reassure children that they are safe and cared for.

Support after a death by suicide

Support after a death through homicide

How might children and young people react after a traumatic death?

Adults and children can experience symptoms of trauma after the death of a loved one. These can include: nightmares, flashbacks, trouble sleeping and physical symptoms like stomach aches and headaches. Trauma symptoms can feel frightening and leave people confused and feeling out of control.

Symptoms of trauma can be triggered by places, people, sights, smells or sounds which are linked to the person who died, or the way that they died. For example the sound of screeching breaks may trigger flashbacks for a child whose parent died in a car accident.

For some people, it can be hard to think about memories of the person who has died, even happy memories can lead to intrusive or upsetting thoughts or images of the way that the person died. These upsetting images may occur repeatedly and lead to an avoidance of thinking about the person.

When we work with families and we think about memories we try to help them think about the ‘whole person’; remembering who that person was, not just the way they died.

Explaining homicide to children and young people

Support after a death in the military

How to help children after a traumatic death

Children need help from the adults in their lives to make sense of their experiences. When a family faces traumatic grief it may feel completely overwhelming and impossible to make sense of.

1. Give factual information

Giving children factual information so they can put together in their own minds what has happened is important. Doing this in an open and clear way enables the child to ask questions and the adults to give answers, this can help to clear up misunderstandings.

2. Listen

If you are an adult supporting a grieving child, it can be hard to know what to say or do. Just being there and available to listen is so important. Children may have lots of questions which you can’t answer, but it can still be helpful for the child to ask them anyway. Just as adults may feel the need to have information about what happened; when, where and why, so can young people and that is why it is important to listen to what a young person is asking and answer as openly and honestly as you feel able to.

3. Talk about it

We can naturally worry that by talking about tragic events we can trigger fears or make people feel worse. However, we have learnt that ‘not talking about’ something as important as people dying or the way they died is more likely to have the effect of increasing anxiety and confusion. There are two main reasons for this:

• Children may make up, or have heard, more frightening inaccurate stories about what has happened and/or will happen in the future.
• Not talking about an important event gives the implicit message that this is something we cannot manage.

Where to get support

If you need advice on supporting a child or young person after a sudden, violent or traumatic death, we are here to help. You can call our Helpline team on 08088 020 021 (8am-8pm, weekdays), email us on ask@staging.winstonswish.org or use our live chat (8am-8pm, weekdays).

For out of hours mental help support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout. For urgent support in a crisis, please call 999.

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Publications and resources

Our specialist books include ones on supporting children and young people after a death through suicide, homicide and in the military.

Information and advice

Advice and resources to support children and young people, including on bereavement by suicide, homicide and serious illness.

When someone in your life dies, feelings of grief can be overwhelming. These feelings may be even more difficult to handle if the death is sudden, traumatic or violent. There are many types of sudden death – it could be through an illness, an accident, murder, manslaughter or suicide.

How might children feel after a sudden death?

While some of the feelings associated with a sudden bereavement may be similar, everyone is unique and may feel different emotions to another family member. The way the person died may also play a part in the way someone feels and behaves.

After someone dies suddenly, children and young people can feel out of control. They may blame themselves or someone else for the death, they may feel angry or they may feel guilty – “if I had stopped him from going out then he wouldn’t have been in the accident”.

Children and young people may also experience symptoms of trauma after the sudden death of a loved one. These could include nightmares, flashbacks, trouble sleeping, stomach aches and headaches.

Supporting children and young people after a sudden, violent or traumatic death

Telling a child someone has died

Give them honest and factual information

It is natural to worry that talking about a sudden death can trigger emotions or make people feel worse. However, we have learnt that ‘not talking about’ something as important as a loved one dying is more like to increase anxiety and confusion.

Giving children the facts so they can understand what has happened is important. In the absence of information children may make up, or overhear, inaccurate stories about what has happened and this can often be more frightening than the truth.

Just as adults may feel the need to have information about what happened; when, where and why, so can young people and that is why it is important to listen to what a young person is asking and answer as openly and honestly as you feel able to.

It can be hard to know what to say or to do, but just being there and available to listen can be enough. Children may have lots of questions which you can’t answer, but it can still be helpful for the child to ask them anyway.

“My friends didn’t know what to say to me straight after my brother died, but that was ok. I still wanted to go to school and see them and do some normal things like play football. Now it is a year after my brother died and I like it now when his friends come and talk to me and tell me funny things about him.” ~ David, 12

Bereavement support after a homicide

Bereavement support after a suicide

Help them to say goodbye

When someone dies suddenly there is no chance to say goodbye. Attending the funeral, memorial service or other ritual can help children to begin to say goodbye to their loved one and begin to understand and accept what has happened.

“When my dad died suddenly last year, I was in complete shock. I didn’t want to believe it was actually true. I found it helpful to be involved in planning dad’s funeral as it gave me a chance to say goodbye, as I felt that this had been ripped away from me.” ~ Julie, 16

Some children won’t want to attend a funeral, or it may not be appropriate or possible for them to attend, but there are other positive ways they could be involved and say goodbye:

• They could choose a piece of music, select a poem or suggest flowers
• Children could write and/or draw cards to be placed on or in the coffin or choose a toy or something meaningful to be placed with the person’s body
• They could write a tribute to the person who died which could be read at the service

If a child or young person couldn’t or didn’t want to attend the funeral there are other ways you could help them to say goodbye:

• Visit the grave or a place with special memories
• Hold a small ceremony with specially chosen music, poems and tributes
• Prepare something to leave in your special place – flowers, a poem, a toy
• Light a candle and share special memories with each other
• Start a collection of memories from family and friends of the person who has died

Where to get support

If you need advice on supporting a child or young person after a sudden death, you can call our Freephone Helpline on 08088 020 021 (9.00am-5.00pm, Monday-Friday), email us on ask@staging.winstonswish.org or use our online chat.

For out of hours mental help support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout. For urgent support in a crisis, please call 999.

Other resources you might find helpful

Publications and resources

Our specialist books include ones on supporting children and young people after a death through suicide, homicide and in the military.

Activities for bereaved children

Download our activities to help grieving children and young people to explore and express their feelings and emotions and to help them maintain memories of the person who has died.

Terrorist attacks, as well as natural and man-made disasters, are, sadly, regular occurrences these day – in the last few years we have seen multiple attacks in the UK and around the world. When these events hit the news it is important to think about how and what we communicate with children and young people.

Remember that all adults, especially teachers, carers and parents, are important role models – we need to take the lead.

Though we may not always see it first hand, especially as a parent, children and young people are learning from us all the time. This includes how we respond to distressing events in the news. Remember that when a major incident occurs it is broadcast repeatedly on news outlets and widely communicated in person and through the internet. Most children and young people will have heard it talked about, and in some instances, it will be a significant topic of conversation in the playground. Sometimes children through their own fear, or to cause a reaction in others, may exaggerate either the details of what has happened or the danger present now.

It is appropriate and important to let children know that we are all likely to have an emotional reaction to a tragic event. We can show them that feeling sad, angry, confused or upset is normal after these events. However, we also want to reassure them and show them that we are able to cope with even the most difficult tragedies. It is also important not to assume that children will see things in the same way as us, if we do, we could inadvertently project our fears onto them. For example, we may be imagining another similar event happening to us, friends or family or in our locality when they see are seeing this as an isolated event.

Supporting children and young people after a sudden, violent or traumatic death

Talking to children about suicide in the news

How can we be ‘honest and open’ and reassuring?

We can naturally worry that by talking about tragic events we can trigger fears or make people think they are more likely to happen. However, we have learnt that ‘not talking about’ something as important as people dying or being killed is more likely to have the effect of increasing anxiety and confusion. There are two main reasons for this:

• Children may make up, or have heard, more frightening inaccurate stories about what has happened and/or will happen in the future
• Not talking about an important event gives the implicit message that this is something we cannot manage.

We reassure by:

• The way in which we talk about something – children will notice our tone of voice, body language and our words. Whilst acknowledging sadness or upset we also want to be calm and reassuring in our manner.
• Helping children appreciate how rare these events are. It may be helpful to point out that the stories are in the news not only because they are shocking and sad, but also because they are rare.
• Where appropriate, pointing out the police or other emergency services are acting to make things safer (for example by arresting perpetrators or finding out why an accident happened).
• If this is an act of terror or other killing it is helpful to talk about people doing ‘bad things’ as opposed to ‘bad people’.

Help to avoid excessive repeated exposure to events

We know that we cannot shield children from these painful events and that attempting to do so can have negative consequences. No child has ever told us they were glad someone lied to them about a death. However, there are studies that show repeatedly watching tragic events, such as the planes flying into the building on 9/11 may have negative psychological consequences (for adults and children).

Explaining suicide to children and young people

Explaining homicide to children and young people

Age appropriate needs

Younger children (3-6 years)

They primarily need to hear that they are safe. Ideally parents and carers will keep calm, reassure about physical safety and help children to understand about their emotional reactions. Young children may be sensitive to absence from care givers, in this case it is important to provide information that will help them understand about the separation and be reassured about the re-union.

Children aged 7-12 years

In this age range children will be increasingly active users of media. They may be exposed to information before they have adequate life experience to place it into context. They may have questions about good and evil and think about more long term consequences. They need help integrating this experience into a balanced view of the world and the risks of life. They will need comfort and reassurance and they will appreciate having their own thoughts, feelings and questions taken seriously.

Adolescents and teenagers

They may be more media savvy and have access to more forms of news than parents and teachers. However, they may get distorted information or form very superficial black and white views of events. It can also be hard to know whether they are impacted by events because they often do not communicate distress or worry to adults. They are likely to value clear information and modelling from parents or teachers, even though, they may not show it outwardly. Often it is helpful to talk about your own experience or other people’s thoughts and feelings as a way of validating their experience without them feeling exposed or vulnerable.

Where to get support

If you feel that you need to seek extra support you can contact our expert team by calling 08088 020 021 (available 8am to 8pm, Monday – Friday), email ask@staging.winstonswish.org or use our online chat.

For out of hours mental help support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout. For urgent support in a crisis, please call 999.

Other resources you might find helpful

Publications and resources

Our specialist publications to help parents and professionals supporting grieving children and young people of all ages and circumstances.

Activities for bereaved children

Download our activities to help grieving children and young people to explore and express their feelings and emotions and to help them maintain memories of the person who has died.