Should community summer day camps provide grief and loss education?

Summer is here and many parents working outside the home struggle with finding appropriate care for their children. Should they use day care, a camp associated with day care, a community rec center or a series of specialty camps? What about all the logistics involved – car pooling, forms to complete, worry after worry. Now add grief into the equation. It’s hard enough managing the summer without the addition of the big feelings of grief. This is true for both parents and children.

While there are many grief camps in the community (and we offer several), the bereavement center wonders what the reaction would be if concepts of grief and loss were introduced to kids at a community focused day camp. Scavenger hunts where the campers search for items that are dead and alive, activities that focus on big feelings (art or physical activities), and games that focus on working together and asking for help could be offered. These are aspects of grief and loss that would be helpful to all children.

We welcome your thoughts on this topic.

There is limited space available for our Together We Can grief camp. For more information, contact us as thebereavementcenter@hospicewr.org.