- Helpful links and resources for parents
- How to find local pet bereavement support lines and charities
- Recommended children's books and video for different age groups
- How to best introduce a new cavy companion or pet?
- Full forum grieving guide (for parents and family)
This is Chapter 3 from our general grieving guide but it makes it hopefully easier for parents to find help in a hurry when they are reeling and struggling themselves.
Every child is different. I have tried to provide a range of helpful resources from practical parenting tips (BBC discussion) and advice from children's support charities to recommended age related children's books (both religious and non-religious) so there is hopefully something for everybody to start out from. There is also an animated Rainbow Bridge song video included that works for every age, including the parents.
It is always much harder having to break the news of a death to your children and it is the most dreaded task.
If there is a serious illness, you can of course prepare your kids to a certain extent. It helps in most cases if you are matter of fact of about it all, but at the same time supportive and sympathetic. How much you want to say about death and afterlife depends on your children's age and your religion but also your children's personality.
However, if you struggle yourself or have a very sensitive or special needs child, you can contact either a human (adult and child) or a pet bereavement helpline to help work out the best way forward for you with specially trained people and to get support for yourself and for your child during its grieving process. Depending on the age, they may want to have a conversation on their own.
Practical resources for parents
(Discussions and practical advice from pet bereavement charities)
We hope that these links, ranging from personal parenting experiences, a short BBC video discussion to constructive advice from pet bereavement charities will help you with finding an approach or approaches that work best for your family.
- You may find some of the tips and practical experiences from forum member mothers in this thread here helpful: Dead young guinea pig :-( and how to tell the kids
- BBC video discussion: How to talk to kids about the loss of a pet: Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales - Help your child cope with the death of a pet
- Blue Cross: Pet loss support for children - missing my friend
- The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement - Age group related advice and further resources: Support – Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement
How to find local bereavement support lines and charities
You can find what is available locally for you by googling 'bereavement helplines', 'bereavement support for children' or 'pet loss for children'. Support options vary enormously from country to country and can be patchy.
In the UK, the Blue Cross pet bereveavement platforms are free: Pet bereavement and pet loss
Recommended children's books that deal with pet bereavement
The following video and books have stood out to us for their thoughtfulness and sensivity. They cover different ages. We have also included both non-religious and Christian options. If possible we have included previews and additional materials.
- An animated Rainbow Bridge song for the youngest or for immediate comfort (toddlers to grandparents)
shared courtesy of @Guinea piggie clips in memory of Oak
- Badger's parting gifts by Susan Varley (Recommended for younger children)
An old Badger takes leave with special gifts to help his friends through their bereavement. It deals with the concept of impending loss and legacy. Non-religious.
- Piggy in Heaven by Melinda Johnson (Recommended for younger children)
This book is an answer to 'your piggy is in now in Heaven'.
It is an imaginative vision of what happens to a guinea pig in a conventional Christian Heaven after it has died - sad and funny at the same time as Piggy is coming to grips with the new reality, helped by his new heavenly friends Fuzzbuzz and Bubbleberry.
Here is a short youtube preview to give you an idea:
- Water Bugs and Dragonflies by Doris Stickney (Highly recommended for older children)
This book tries to introduce death as a natural part of life that cannot be controlled and is difficult to explain. It is death dealt with in a very thoughtful and insightful manner by the example of the life cycle of dragonflies.
Here is a pdf version with helpful ideas on how you can introduce the story and integrate it with an activity:
Waterbugs-and-Butterflies.pdf
How to best introduce a new cavy companion or a new pet?
Please do not give a new guinea pig to a grieving child like trying to replace a broken toy. What your child is mourning over is the loss of a unique and irreplaceable bond.
Any new arrival should be strictly along the lines of 'Our remaining guinea pig needs a new friend to help THEM because they are feeling very lonely and sad'.
Allow your child to choose the right time if instant company for a bereaved guinea pig is not an issue (in many cases bereaved piggies will cope for a few weeks) and then involve them in the process and choice of any new pets as much as they are willing to, be it more guinea pigs or (if companionship for a bereaved guinea pig is not a concern) starting afresh with another pet species. If you could do this via an adoption process in order to give unhappy pets a happy life, that would be great!
The forum can help with practical tips for what to look with and where, including bonding support and cage adaptations and how soon to look. This guide here covers the immediate wake, how soon to step/what to look out for, 'replacement' worries and more:
Full forum grieving guide for parents and family
We have also practical and sensitive information and resources advice to help you through your own journey with its own ups and downs.
- How to find local pet bereavement support lines and charities
- Recommended children's books and video for different age groups
- How to best introduce a new cavy companion or pet?
- Full forum grieving guide (for parents and family)
This is Chapter 3 from our general grieving guide but it makes it hopefully easier for parents to find help in a hurry when they are reeling and struggling themselves.
Every child is different. I have tried to provide a range of helpful resources from practical parenting tips (BBC discussion) and advice from children's support charities to recommended age related children's books (both religious and non-religious) so there is hopefully something for everybody to start out from. There is also an animated Rainbow Bridge song video included that works for every age, including the parents.
It is always much harder having to break the news of a death to your children and it is the most dreaded task.
If there is a serious illness, you can of course prepare your kids to a certain extent. It helps in most cases if you are matter of fact of about it all, but at the same time supportive and sympathetic. How much you want to say about death and afterlife depends on your children's age and your religion but also your children's personality.
However, if you struggle yourself or have a very sensitive or special needs child, you can contact either a human (adult and child) or a pet bereavement helpline to help work out the best way forward for you with specially trained people and to get support for yourself and for your child during its grieving process. Depending on the age, they may want to have a conversation on their own.
Practical resources for parents
(Discussions and practical advice from pet bereavement charities)
We hope that these links, ranging from personal parenting experiences, a short BBC video discussion to constructive advice from pet bereavement charities will help you with finding an approach or approaches that work best for your family.
- You may find some of the tips and practical experiences from forum member mothers in this thread here helpful: Dead young guinea pig :-( and how to tell the kids
- BBC video discussion: How to talk to kids about the loss of a pet: Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales - Help your child cope with the death of a pet
- Blue Cross: Pet loss support for children - missing my friend
- The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement - Age group related advice and further resources: Support – Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement
How to find local bereavement support lines and charities
You can find what is available locally for you by googling 'bereavement helplines', 'bereavement support for children' or 'pet loss for children'. Support options vary enormously from country to country and can be patchy.
In the UK, the Blue Cross pet bereveavement platforms are free: Pet bereavement and pet loss
Recommended children's books that deal with pet bereavement
The following video and books have stood out to us for their thoughtfulness and sensivity. They cover different ages. We have also included both non-religious and Christian options. If possible we have included previews and additional materials.
- An animated Rainbow Bridge song for the youngest or for immediate comfort (toddlers to grandparents)
shared courtesy of @Guinea piggie clips in memory of Oak
- Badger's parting gifts by Susan Varley (Recommended for younger children)
An old Badger takes leave with special gifts to help his friends through their bereavement. It deals with the concept of impending loss and legacy. Non-religious.
- Piggy in Heaven by Melinda Johnson (Recommended for younger children)
This book is an answer to 'your piggy is in now in Heaven'.
It is an imaginative vision of what happens to a guinea pig in a conventional Christian Heaven after it has died - sad and funny at the same time as Piggy is coming to grips with the new reality, helped by his new heavenly friends Fuzzbuzz and Bubbleberry.
Here is a short youtube preview to give you an idea:
- Water Bugs and Dragonflies by Doris Stickney (Highly recommended for older children)
This book tries to introduce death as a natural part of life that cannot be controlled and is difficult to explain. It is death dealt with in a very thoughtful and insightful manner by the example of the life cycle of dragonflies.
Here is a pdf version with helpful ideas on how you can introduce the story and integrate it with an activity:
Waterbugs-and-Butterflies.pdf
How to best introduce a new cavy companion or a new pet?
Please do not give a new guinea pig to a grieving child like trying to replace a broken toy. What your child is mourning over is the loss of a unique and irreplaceable bond.
Any new arrival should be strictly along the lines of 'Our remaining guinea pig needs a new friend to help THEM because they are feeling very lonely and sad'.
Allow your child to choose the right time if instant company for a bereaved guinea pig is not an issue (in many cases bereaved piggies will cope for a few weeks) and then involve them in the process and choice of any new pets as much as they are willing to, be it more guinea pigs or (if companionship for a bereaved guinea pig is not a concern) starting afresh with another pet species. If you could do this via an adoption process in order to give unhappy pets a happy life, that would be great!
The forum can help with practical tips for what to look with and where, including bonding support and cage adaptations and how soon to look. This guide here covers the immediate wake, how soon to step/what to look out for, 'replacement' worries and more:
Full forum grieving guide for parents and family
We have also practical and sensitive information and resources advice to help you through your own journey with its own ups and downs.
