When a Child is Grieving
Our mission is to equip you to
help bereaved kids navigate their grief.
You can support a grieving child.
YOU can support a grieving child!
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Children heal best through play in relationship with a caring adult. Everything you need to support a child who has experienced a death is in this comprehensive curriculum.
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Creative activities for all learning styles
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Detailed instructions & quotable script
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Our Story Memory Book
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Photocopy ready material and resource URLs
"Every change is a loss and every loss must be grieved." - Carl Young
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About the Author
Mel Erickson, Retired Social Worker & Hospice Bereavement Coordinator
She co-authored Teen Talk, An 8-week Curriculum for Grieving Teenagers. She wrote the ‘Our Story’ memory book as a tool to help children process their grief. As a presenter she has spoken and offered training internationally. She has coordinated the GriefShare ministry at her church and more recently has returned to her passion of working with grieving youth. The Kid Talk Faith-Based Curriculum is the culmination of over 30 years of training and experience working with grieving children in both schools and private settings. It continues to evolve with every new group of kids.
Children need to mourn
Just like adults, children need to work their way through grief. Unresolved childhood grief can contribute to complicated emancipation, adolescent depression, acting out and risk-taking behaviors. It need not be so. Caring adults can make a huge difference. There is no work more rewarding than watching hurting children transform back into kids living with gusto! With the Kid Talk Faith-Based Curriculum and Our Story Memory Book, you can help children...
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Work through unfamiliar feelings and behaviors
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Document their memories
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Know God better and trust Him more
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Learn what they can do to feel better
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Acquire tools to express their ongoing love for their decedent.
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Connect with other kids who "get it" and feel more understood.
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Our hope is that these books give you, as a caring adult, the understanding and the tools you need to help children navigate grief. You will find this program adapts easily to your unique kids and setting.
Learn how to guide children along their healing journey
If you have a caring heart and enjoy kids, you have found a starting place to to support a grieving child or group of children. The flexible format in Kid Talk provides detailed instructions and the needed resources for over 100 uniquely designed activities that support the grieving child and promote transformative healing.
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This curriculum was used for over 20 years in hospice and public schools and then was expanded to include the faith component. It is proven to help children heal and move forward with their lives.
Testimonials
Christine Eide – GriefShare Facilitator, Chaplain
This Christian curriculum is very well written. Easy to understand. Easy to follow. It does not tax the grief brain of a parent who wants to help a child cope with and understand their own grief. Adults and children both learn and grow while working through this program together. It is easily used in a family setting or in group settings. I recommend this book to anyone who knows a child who is dealing with the loss of a close family member or friend.
E. Hagreen
Reviews Our Story
My 10 year old daughter’s friend passed away this week after a battle with cancer. We knew the end was coming so I ordered this book (as a stand alone—not with the curriculum) and it arrived 2 days after she died. A therapist friend told me that one of the ways to help a child find meaning and conceptualize death is by having the child write their story about the person who died. So when I saw “Our Story” I thought it might be just what I was looking for. After looking it over, it is just as I had hoped. A simple yet meaningful guide through processing the grief of losing someone while also serving as a keepsake. Most pages seem pretty strait forward and I don’t think the full curriculum will be necessary for us to complete the book. My daughter feels good about having this book to honor her friend and especially loves the cover art.
Ryan D.
Reviews 12 Simple Tips & Tools
Over the past several years, our family has been so blessed by the gift of Mel and her ministry. Following the loss of my wife from cancer in 2019, we have been on the journey of helping my two boys walk the journey of grief. In 12 simple steps, Mel provides practical and tangible ways to guide kids through grief. She strikes the balance of leading kids into those spaces in a way that is encouraging and yet gives kids language to understand and express their grief. I highly recommend this resource to any family walking through the journey of grief.