Books and Resources for Caregivers
A Child’s View of Grief: A Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Counselors by Alan D. Wolfelt (Amazon)
This book explains how children and teens grieve after someone you love has died and how the adults in their life can help children and teens cope with grief.
When a Parent is Sick: Helping Parents Explain Serious Illness to Children by Joan Hamilton (Indigo/Chapters)
This book provides parents and other caregivers with suggestions on how to approach children with the information that their parent is seriously ill. There are lots of examples of how and what to say to children and teens.
Great Answers to Difficult Questions about Death: What Children Need to
Know by Linda Goldman (Amazon)
This book explores children’s thoughts and feelings related to death and provides parents and other adults, guidance on how to respond to difficult questions.
Living Dying: A Guide for Adults Support Grieving Children and Teenagers by Ceilidh Eaton Russell
This book includes suggestions for talking about illness and death with young people, including them in the care of the dying, and maintaining meaningful connections after a loved one has died.
Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas by Alan D. Wolfelt (Amazon)
Offers a list of ideas for honoring and remembering a loved one, and supporting, interacting, and communicating with a grieving teen.
Ida, Always by Caron Levis (Amazon)
Gus lives in a big park in the middle of an even bigger city, and he spends his days with Ida. Then one sad day, Gus learns that Ida is very sick, and she isn’t going to get better. Slowly Gus realizes that even after Ida is gone, she will still be with him.
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld (Amazon)
One by one, the animals try to tell Taylor how to process this loss, and one by one they fail. Then the rabbit arrives. All the rabbit does is listen, which is just what Taylor needs.
The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr (Amazon)
A touching and hopeful story about saying goodbye to someone you love. Featuring a fish in a fishbowl whose companion disappears.
One Wave at a Time by Holly Thompson (Amazon)
After his father dies, Kai experiences all kinds of emotions: sadness, anger, fear, guilt. As Kai and his family adjust to life without Dad, the waves still roll in. But with the help of friends and one another, they learn to cope — and, eventually, heal.
Includes a series of 3 learning modules that provide strategies and talking points to help caregivers address tough subjects with a grieving child.
Free e-learning program Weathering the Storm: Parenting Grieving Children offers assistance to caregivers parenting grieving children. The resource library includes tipsheets and podcasts for helping caregivers recognize grief, communicate about grief, parent through grief, and the importance of self-care (offered in 7 languages).
Children and Youth Grief Network
Features access to additional resources, a video series on how to support grieving children at school, and an interactive map displaying services available in Region of Peel and GTA.
Includes tips, videos, a story, and activities to help your family members communicate with one
another, express emotions, and begin the process of moving forward.
Blog posts cover a variety of topics including grief education, supporting kids/teens,
suggestions for coping, ideas for self-expression, and ways to honour and remember loved ones
Provides one to one support for children, teens and families living with illness, grief and loss.
Jodi Pereira
Director of Community Programs
Heart House Hospice
1-855 Matheson Blvd. East Mississauga, Ontario
905-712-8119 ex. 224 / jpereira@hearthousehospice.com
Lighthouse for Grieving Children
Facilitates peer support groups for bereaved children and teens (ages 3-19). Parents and guardians are welcome to attend adult peer support groups which are offered at the same time as the children/teen groups.
Bereaved Families of Ontario (Halton/Peel)
Offers an art expression grief support group for youth and young adults (ages 14-29), and one-to-one support and a variety of open/closed grief support groups for adults.
If you or a loved one is living with cancer, Wellspring offers professionally led cancer support programs and services in Brampton and Oakville.
Past Activities and Events
These events were part of our H.U.U.G. (Help Us Understand Grief) program.
MUSIC CIRCLE
Music can be a great way to express your feeling.
SPECIAL CELEBRATIONS
We also take the opportunity to celebrate mothers and fathers on their special day
WEAVE
A family weave to initiate reflection and sharing of memories. A beautiful keepsake filled with inspiration and messages for each other.
QUILTS
Special cloths, colours, fabric and mementos can remind us of our loved ones. Some of our activities build legacy pieces with some of our and our loved ones favorite things.
PREPARING OUR HEART FOR THE SPECIAL HOLIDAYS
We made special ornaments for the tree with memories and love. This serves to remind us of past memories, special moments and their continues presence.
KINTSUGI
Kintsugi is a traditional Japanese art that acknowledges breaks and repairs as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.