Easing your child into favorite things
As the weather gets warmer, most of us are excited to spend more time outside. It can feel great to be out in the sunshine after a long winter! But sometimes a grieving child may choose not to do this. Perhaps, in their grief, your child is not engaging in as many...
Our need for community
Social relationships can be hard even in the best of times, but when grief and loss are involved, those relationships can seem even harder. The thought of being asked questions, people needing things from us, or even wearing presentable clothes can be exhausting...
Preparing for trigger days
There are certain days on one’s grief journey that are predictably harder than other days. We sometimes refer to these days as “trigger days.” These are days that typically have special significance, such as the birthday of our loved one, the death date, or holidays.
Is laughter the best medicine?
We often hear that laughter is the best medicine, but when we are deep in our grief, this can be hard to believe. While it’s true that laughter does not cure all things, the Mayo Clinic (2023) says that laughter does indeed help.
Helping kids with emotions is not easy but necessary
Children have the same struggles as adults with their emotions, learning to figure out their feelings or how to express themselves. Also like adults, what works for one child may not be as helpful with another. For some children, giving them time alone to process...
Crossing things off the list
Let’s face it: adulting requires some time that we often don't have. Which leads to even more stress. But good self-care includes addressing the things that bring us stress.
COJ Featured on Smashing the Stigma Podcast
Recently, COJ was honored to be featured on three episodes of the Smashing the Stigma podcast produced by the City of Montgomery. Click here to find and listen to all three episodes including: Childhood Grief – with Laura Holmes, MSW, LISW, School-based Program...
Get outside and move – even in winter
Winter inevitably comes with dark and cold, which means that most of us spend more time inside and less time moving. This can be detrimental to our kids’ mental health, especially if they are grieving. We recommend that you engage your family in fun, outdoor...
“Word of the year” – give it a try
Happy New Year! It has become a tradition for some individuals to pick a “word of the year” in order to give them something positive to focus on and/or learn about throughout the year. Is there a particular word that might be beneficial for you to focus on this...