Grief Speaks
Signs of Grief in Children/Teens
  
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  • Signs of Grief in Children and Teens:

    Normal Emotional Behaviors:
  • oceans of tears
  • crying at unexpected times
  • having strong feelings about seemingly small things
  • over-reacting to a situation
  • inability to concentrate or focus
  • noncompliance with adults
  • needing to be near an adult all the time
  • being angry at everyone and everything
  • seeing someone and believing it is the person who died
  • forgetfulness
  • lowered self esteem
  • irritability
  • clowning

Normal Verbal behaviors:

  • talking about the deceased or loss a lot
  • not talking about the deceased or loss at all
  • asking numerous questions
  • not asking questions
  • wishing to be with the deceased
  • engaging attention by talking a lot
  • saying clownish things
  • becoming the class bully, class clown or withdrawn from others
  • mentioning nighttime dreams about the person who died
  • wanting to hear the story of the loss over and over again
  • not wanting to hear the story
  • voicing fears of almost everything and anything
  • imitate and idolize their loved one who has died
  • appear to daydream
  • yearn to be with the deceased.
  • voicing worries about safety, other people getting sick or dying

Normal Physical behaviors:

eating a lot
not eating much
sleeping a lot
not sleeping
urine and bowel accidents
pains in the stomach and other areas unexplained by physician
non-serious, recurrent illnesses such as colds, sore throats, and headaches. 
older children regressing: clinging,wanting to do babyish things such as suck a bottle, play with dolls
aggressive behavior such as hitting, pinching
needing to touch people frequently
weariness and fatigue, even with enough sleep
wanting to rip and destroy things

Worrisome behaviors:

*  dangerous risk taking

*  self destructive behaviors

*  threatening to hurt self or others

*  violent play

*  total withdrawal from people and environment

*  a dramatic change in personality or functioning over a long period of time

*  any of the "normal" behaviors happening over a very long time or to an extreme.

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