A number of years ago I was visiting a friend whose daughter was very upset of the death of her favourite pet – a little stick insect called Rosie. She was in her room sobbing, hugging her favourite comfort book (a hardcover dinosaur encyclopedia) and she looked up at me as I came to see her and said ‘now I know what it is to feel my heart broken’! At that point I knew that she was experiencing her first taste of grief and while it cannot be compared to the grief we suffer at the loss of a loved one it was still genuine for her in that moment.
The year that was and the year we are in has seen many in our community suffer through both expected and unexpected situations of grief. Grief is the emotional response to loss and as adults we work hard to shield the children in our lives from this emotion. We often classify emotions as either good or bad – however this is not the case. All emotions are important. Through both the Wellbeing Program and the Health program we explore emotions and emotional literacy. It is through learning and developing empathy that we are then able to work through our individual emotional responses. Ultimately, to develop the ability to be resilient when facing uncertainty or grief, we must have empathy and understanding – we need to know that we can’t always be successful, come first and even what sadness and grief feels like.
It is good and important to protect our children – but equally important to regularly encourage discussion and let them talk through their feelings, both positive and negative. Ultimately, this will empower them to grow into more empathetic and resilient young men and women. The Homeroom Teachers, the Primary Wellbeing Team, and the School Counsellor and Psychologist are always available to support our students and families.