Helping Kids Cope with Loss.

• Position: GRIEF

With the loss of a loved one--including pets--it can be overwhelming for parents to cope with their own grief while also helping children cope with theirs.

Psychotherapist Edy Nathan, author of It's Grief: The Dance of Self-Discovery Through Trauma and Loss, has compiled a list suggestions to help kids through the grief process:

* Allow children to show that they are in an active state of mourning, and give them permission to do it in their own way.

* Be curious about what children are experiencing. Ask lots of questions, but with care. The queries should be unobtrusive and paced. Show patience in waiting for a response. Allow kids to process in their own time.

* When kids lose a parent, sibling, or anyone who has been dear to them, they will start to ask questions about death. Answer them as honestly as you are able--yet respond appropriately for their age.

* If the family is suffering from a loss, the children often experience the loss of the loved one as well as the loss of the grieving parents. Though it is difficult to put the emotions of grief aside, remember that children are vulnerable, taking cues from the way in which caregivers cope.

* It often is a knee-jerk reaction to the loss of a...