How to Tell Children About a Death

TAPS listens to survivors. Our ear is continually tuned toward the input of all those in the survivor community. As a result, programming and resources have been tailored by insightful feedback that effectively speaks to the experiences and needs of all those who have lost a loved one whose life included military service to America. This community of hope rallies to identify helpful next steps in programs, partnerships, and resources, all for the benefit of military survivors.

In addition to resources created for survivors, TAPS also develops resources to support those who come alongside survivors in their deepest time of need, such as casualty officers, clinicians, school personnel, members of the military, chaplains, friends, and others. Having a strong network of support that is educated regarding grief, trauma, and bereavement is key, and TAPS is committed to providing this foundational understanding through extensive collaboration to develop a broad spectrum of educational resources.  

One of the newest children’s grief resources TAPS has developed helps families understand how to tell children about death. TAPS knows that delivering the news of the loss of a loved one and having conversations about death are difficult and we want to ease some of the anxiety. As families seek to find the best ways to share this difficult news, our one-page resource “How to Tell the Children” will be a helpful tool, offering age-appropriate words that will help our youngest survivors begin to understand what has transpired.  These foundational conversations lay the groundwork for open and honest communication among families, which contributes to healing.  

TAPS understands that having a robust grief toolkit helps stabilize families. We will continue to work with our families and all those supporting us to identify additional tools which can ease a bit of the burden and provide hope for the road ahead. Through our shared experience of loss, we will continue to heal and grow together.

If you are looking for a specific resource on military grief, trauma, and bereavement, or if you would like to collaborate with TAPS on future resources, please contact us at info@taps.org.