A short transcript excerpt from a David Kessler YouTube video in which a caller asks who in a child's life should be notified about a death. Kessler advises informing people who will interact with the child—school staff, teachers, and caregivers—while noting they needn't all hold formal conversations; simple awareness that the child may act or feel differently is sufficient.
Who in my child's life should be notified about the death.
When a child is in grief, it's important that you let people who are going to interact with them know. So you want to let the school know, you want to let their teachers know, you want to let anyone who cares for the child know. But you also, at the same time, want to make sure that everyone you tell that they don't all have to have a sit down, serious conversation with the child about the grief. Just letting them know that the child may feel a little differently, act a little differently, because they are dealing with very different feelings than they've had before and dealing with a significant loss.
