What Kids can Teach us about Grief

Last week, I had the honor of working with a group of children from Queens, NY. Their astute and caring coach noticed that some of them were struggling since the pandemic, and even more so since some of the restrictions had been lifted and life has been returning to "normal." She asked me to come to their gym and meet with them to provide some support.

I met with a group of about 20 children ranging in age from 6 to 11. We hung out for a bit and then settled in to do an activity based on their worries. I gave them some art supplies and a little direction asking them to put their worries on paper. It could be about the pandemic or any other worries they had. Then they had a chance to share their worries with everyone else. And do you know what I found out? They have a lot of the same worries as I do! And probably a lot of the same worries you do. Here were some of their worries:

• Spiders

• Bacteria

• Dying

• That there will be no more fashion

• The war in the Ukraine

• That no one will take care of me

• Monsters

• That I won't have enough money for food

• That I won't have friends

• That I'll always have to wear a mask

• My stuffed animal panda

• Depression

• The vaccine

I thought it would be nice to see all of our worries together, so click on this link and add your worry (anonymously) to the jamboard. Let's fill it up with our worries. Not only will this show us that so many people have the same worries as we do, but sometimes putting our worries out there actually makes them more manageable. Try it and let me know what you think!