An elephant never forgets – hospice welcomes child bereavement campaign

Now a new campaign launched by Child Bereavement UK will encourage schools to use elephants as an example to help children understand bereavement.

Teachers will explain that when an elephant dies, the herd is saddened and gathers round the body. The fact they never forget will emphasise that it’s all right for youngsters to talk about the people they love who’ve passed on.

Keech Hospice Care has welcomed the initiative.

Children’s specialist palliative care social worker Martin Hill said: “This is a positive step forward in the recognition of child grief and the needs of children affected.

“A surprisingly large percentage experience the death of a close relative or friend and until now there has been little support outside the hospice and child bereavement sectors.”
He added: “Having the issues of death, loss and grief more widely discussed will not only benefit those directly impacted but will also enable all children to talk more openly about an area of life experience that until now has been seen as off-limits to the young people in our society.”

Child Bereavement UK chief executive Ann Chalmers acknowledged some parents may be concerned about such a sensitive issue being discussed in the classroom. But she said she believed it would be benefical to bereaved families: “The children we support tell us how often they feel isolated when they’ve been bereaved.
“Teachers don’t know how to respond, and their peers can find it very dificult as well.

“We want to raise awareness about how these issues can be talked about in a non-threatening way.”