HOW TO COPE WITH GRIEF ON FATHER’S DAY

As holidays approach, you begin to see advertisements for sweet gifts and meaningful cards. But, there’s another sector of people that those advertisements forget to consider. Many people dread certain holidays because they remind them of what they’ve lost. With my grief recovery resources, I hope to make these difficult days a little easier for you. At Lighting The Way, I want to show you that there are ways where you can honor a loved one, and hopefully you can begin to look forward to certain holidays again.

One of the holidays that can be the hardest for people to navigate is Father’s Day. If you’ve lost your father, then the advertisements on the television and card display at your local Colorado Springs store seem to be a painful reminder of what you no longer have. Navigating your emotions leading up to this day, and during Father’s Day, can be confusing and overwhelming. I hope with my resources and support, that you can learn a healthy way to cope with your emotions during a day that has sometimes seemed impossible for you to live through.

Supporting A Fatherless Child

The most important thing to remember is that Father’s Day is about love and the bond between a father and child. Learning how to help your child navigate their emotions during Father’s Day can be difficult, especially when you’re trying to heal your own pain. Another layer is added if your child is young, and doesn’t quite understand grief or why their daddy is gone. Hopefully, with these tips, helping your child heal their pain may seem a bit more manageable for you.

1. Listen And Offer Comfort
   • Children express their emotions in different ways when a parent has passed. There is no right or wrong way. Some may seem to not react at all, while others may have a million questions. Your little one may not understand why they have to call their grandpa for Father’s Day, but they don’t have a father of their own to run to and hug. Make sure to be present to answer any questions that your child may have, and to offer a comforting hug when they run up to you.
2. Help Verbalize Emotions
   • Talk to your child about Father’s Day and let them know that the holiday is approaching. Encourage them to talk about how they’re feeling, even if they’re not quite sure about what emotions they’re experiencing. One way to help normalize emotions is to talk about your own feelings. It’s healthy to sit down with your child and talk to them about the anxiety that you may be feeling as Father’s Day approaches, and that you’re sad you won’t be able to spend Father’s Day with daddy this year.
3. Support Your Child Honoring Their Father
   • If your kid brings up the idea of wanting to visit their dad’s gravesite, going to their dad’s favorite restaurant or wants to write a Father’s Day poem for their dad, support and encourage their ideas. Your child may find ways that help them cope with Father’s Day after losing their dad, without doing it on purpose. If your little one runs up to and proposes an idea for Father’s Day, go for it! Any little activity that helps your child process that their father is gone, and manage their emotions on Father’s Day, is a huge win.

Finding Healthy Ways To Cope With Grief

Losing your child’s father is a pain that no child and no mother deserve to go through. For reasons that we do not know the answer to, sometimes this pain becomes a part of our reality. With Lighting The Way, I hope to provide you with resources that make it easier to navigate through difficult times, such as Father’s Day. You may have no idea where to start in helping your child navigate their first fatherless Father’s Day, and that is completely normal. If you would like to set up an appointment to discuss child grief counseling, or would like more information on the grief recovery method, please reach out.