The Grief Experienced by Kinship Children

Children who have experienced a removal from their biological parents whether that be for reasons known or unknown, experience a level of grief that is hard to understand. With the grief of our kinship children, also comes the grief of the kinship caregiver. It is so hard to differentiate our grief as caregivers and to let our kinship caregiver experience their own grief.  It is hard not to influence our children regarding how they should or shouldn’t feel. Most of our kinship children do not know what their future will look like in regards to their relationship with their biological parents. This creates what is called ambiguous loss. This means that the loss has no beginning and or end. There is not diameters and this creates an extra layer of grief for these children. They often wonder if they will go back to their parents, if they will go back to their trauma, or to another caregiver. This is so much for anyone to process but especially a child. Helping our kinship children learn to identify, feel, and react to their emotions is key to helping them through this grieving process. There are many different ways to do this. Depending on the child's age and emotional awareness can be significant in determining the best way to help. There are several activities that can help children process their emotions such as using a visual, like a feelings wheel or magnets with emotions on them. Your kinship navigator has many tools they would love to help you and your kinship children with. Please reach out for individualized ideas. Also, therapy may be one of the best options for your child and yourself. If you need resources in your area, a kinship navigator can help you get connected.