About the Story and Activity
Death is an explosive and scary time for families, even when it’s an expected loss and you have time to prepare. This story is about finding control again amid the feelings of overwhelm and loss of control that death can bring.
We want to help kids return to their own agency, and to begin to work on lightening their own load. The goal is to support them to feel more powerful rather than powerless.
Creating the awareness with a visual metaphor like the backpack, we can remind children that they have the choice not to pick up more rocks for their bag. With practice, this will become a useful exercise to help young people cope with many of life’s challenges, including death.
What You'll Need
Card
String
Scissors
Pencil or felt-pen
Coloured pencils
Sticky tape
Instructions
Draw the outline of a large heart on the card and cut it out. Ask your child to write their name on the heart and decorate it any way they’d like.
Ask your child to think of everyone who loves and supports them. They can be family or friends, teachers or even a beloved pet.
Now cut out a smaller heart for each of the people they have named and ask your child to colour these in too.
Use the tape to attach the string to each small heart, and connect it to the big heart. The art you make together could be hung in your child’s room, or turned into a special picture.
This activity can help your child feel more secure and resilient by reminding them they are not alone, and there are always people ready to help them carry the weight.