Navigating grief: Supportive Resources for Bereaved Families

Gentle activities and reflections to support children and parents as they carry their grief

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Resources created for bereaved parents and siblings

Losing a child to cancer changes everything. It’s a loss that can be hard to put into words and touches every part of life. These printable workbooks were created by Redkite social workers, with support from bereaved parents, as something gentle to reach for if and when it feels right.

These self-paced resources include ideas, creative activities, and space for reflection. You can use them on your own, together as a family, or with support from a Redkite social worker.

You can choose to use them online or print them at home, depending on what feels most manageable. You might also like to keep a notebook nearby to write down reflections, thoughts, or anything you’d like to return to later.

There’s no one right way to use them. Some families explore them all at once. Others take their time. Take what feels supportive, and leave the rest.

A Book for You: When your brother or sister has died

This workbook is a space where children can remember their sibling, explore their feelings, and begin to understand what grief can feel like. Some pages invite drawing, others include questions to think about, and some offer activities or information about grief.

Children don’t have to work through the pages in order. They can choose what feels right for them. Children can use this workbook by themselves or with someone they trust, like a parent or another grown-up.

Even though this workbook was made especially for children who have lost a brother or sister to cancer, it can also be used if someone else close to them has died, like a cousin, friend, or another family member.

Supporting my grieving child

Supporting your grieving child while also navigating your own deep grief and heartbreak can feel incredibly hard. There is no single right way to grieve, and children often express their feelings in different, sometimes unexpected ways.

This workbook was created to gently support you in that. It offers guidance drawn from the experiences of other families, practical ideas that might help your child feel supported, and space for reflection. You’ll also find age-based insights into how grief may show up in children’s words, play, or behaviour, and language that might help when talking about loss with children.

Ongoing connection

A practical workbook for families wanting to stay connected after the death of a child.

After losing a child, families often look for ways to stay connected — not only with the child who has died, but also with one another. Grief can feel isolating, and connection can be a gentle way to carry love forward.

Some families create new traditions. Others find comfort in familiar routines. There’s no right or wrong way, only what feels meaningful to you.

This workbook offers ideas and prompts to support ongoing connection as a family. Some suggestions focus on remembering your child. Others offer ways to care for yourselves and support each other.

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