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For the school aged child, like the younger child, grief crisis may interrupt age appropriate activities and force a child to address issues for which the child is not developmentally prepared. Children this age might believe that certain behavior will bring their loved ones back.
When the death of a loved one occurs, adults are faced with difficult choices about whether to include children in death rituals such as funerals and memorial services. As a general guideline, children should be allowed to attend a wake, funeral and burial if they want to. Children can also be involved in the funeral planning. Joining family members for these rituals gives the child a chance to receive grief support from others and a chance to say goodbye in their own way to the deceased. Children should never be forced to attend a funeral or memorial service.