Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

Handout 1 - Module 2 Topic 5

Whether a child or a child’s family member has AIDS, you can help the child

to prepare for the idea of death by:

 Remembering that children from 18 months to about five years have ‘magical

thinking’. They may fear that their thoughts or behaviour have caused themselves

or others to get sick, for example by not doing well at school or not following

a traditional custom.

 Communicating openly, honestly and factually. This involves giving information that

is adjusted according to the child’s age. Avoid using abstract or misleading

explanations, such as ‘your mother has gone to sleep’.

 Allowing the child to express anger or fear and helping the child to do so without

harming himself, herself or anyone else.

 Acknowledging that a child’s most natural reaction to death might be denial.

Help the child to work through this by gently, but continually, discussing the facts

about death and HIV/AIDS; and enabling the child to express fears and to ask

questions.

 Ensuring that the child is not alone with worries and fears. For example, encourage

family members to discuss issues of death and bereavement at home, as well as

in counselling sessions. Also, where appropriate, consider involving others such as

church leaders in counselling the child about what death and dying mean in the

context of their own culture and religion.

 Allowing children to discuss how they would like themselves or their family members

to be remembered. For example, they might like to prepare a ‘memory book’ of

drawings, poems and photographs.

Preparing Children for a Death in the Family

(^320) Appendix 1, Handouts Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children