Parents, encourage your kids to follow their grief when a pet dies. That means kids should talk about their pet, write about their pet, and draw, paint or even sing about their beloved pet. Don’t let children hold in those feelings of sadness and grief. Tell them to share their feelings–and see where it takes them.
Here at Bash And Lucy, we talk every day about how our dear Lucy died suddenly of cancer, and how we wrote a book, “Bash And Lucy Fetch Confidence,” and made her the main character. We did this to help overcome our grief and keep her alive in our hearts. What’s more, we tell our story over and over, and when we give our Skype in the Classroom lessons, we encourage kids to use art to help them express their feelings about losing a pet.
When kids follow their grief and show how vulnerable they are, they open themselves to new experiences, growth, and even adventure. That’s what has happened to us.
As we’ve followed our grief, we’ve written a book, “Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence,” started Michael’s Dog Blog for kids, and told our story to local and national press. We’ve met so many wonderful people along the way, including this week, when we appeared live on AM Northwest. We met two book authors, Mantu Joshi and Germaine Parra, plus a “guilty crafter,” Angela Daniels. We loved meeting these other AM Northwest guests and were really touched when they said our live interview went well, even when Michael, age 5, decided to dance in front of the camera instead of answering questions!
And we really enjoyed AM Northwest’s host, Helen Raptis, who has a true gift for just going with the flow. You can watch our interview here, during which Lisa talks about the importance of encouraging kids to follow their grief (while Michael discovers he’s on the studio’s TV monitor and plays in front of it):
Live Interview with AM Northwest
We’d love your comments about our interview and our “follow your grief” message. Do you have any stories about how kids have used art and writing to help overcome the loss of a dear pet? Email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com, or tweet us at @BashAndLucy. And if you’d like to learn more about our Skype in the Classroom lessons–during which we discuss, with kids globally, the importance of using art to grieve the loss of a pet–check out our YouTube page, Bash And Lucy on YouTube . While you’re focusing on helping kids follow their feelings, keep in mind that following your hearts can lead to surprises, like the surprises Lisa encountered on AM Northwest!