When Words Aren’t Enough: Supporting Grieving Children Through Creative Connection

Grief doesn’t always look like sadness. In children, it might arrive quietly—in withdrawn silences, sudden outbursts, stomach aches before school, or clinginess that never used to be there. Their inner world shifts, but their language for that world may still be developing.

And so, while adults may process grief through conversations and tears, children often grieve with their bodies. With movement. With drawing. With play. With quiet.

As parents and carers, we want to make things better—we want to say the right thing, do the right thing, or take the pain away. But grief isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a process to honour. A journey that needs presence more than perfection.

The Invisible Weight of Grief in Children

Children grieve in waves. They dip in and out, often returning to the same questions or feelings weeks or months after a loss. And because their nervous systems are still developing, they rely on the regulation of the adults around them to feel safe again.

Without space to express grief, children may carry it in their bodies like a secret. This is why trauma-informed creative processes are so powerful—because they allow children to externalise pain safely, without needing to explain or make sense of it in adult terms.

At Awakening Creative Therapies, we understands that the body holds the story until it feels safe enough to release it. Through creative expression, that story can begin to find a shape, and slowly, healing can unfold.

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Gentle Ways to Connect: Creative Outlets for Grieving Children

Here are some simple, non-verbal, and body-based ways you can support a grieving child—without asking them to “talk about it” unless they choose to.

1. Create a “Safe Space in a Box”

Offer your child a shoebox or small container to decorate. This becomes their “safe space box.” They can fill it with items that feel comforting: a feather, a photo, a drawing, a written wish, a tiny object that reminds them of the person or pet who died. The box holds what feels too big to carry alone.

2. Body Mapping with Colour

Lay a large piece of paper on the floor and trace around your child’s body (if they’re open to it). Invite them to colour in how their body feels today. Is there a heavy feeling in the chest? Is there lightness somewhere? Are there colours that want to be used without needing to explain why?

This sensory exercise helps externalise body-held emotions safely and gently.

3. Grief Stones

Go for a nature walk and collect small, smooth stones. At home, use markers or paint to draw symbols, words, or feelings onto them—each one can represent something they’re holding onto: “sad,” “memories,” “anger,” “love,” or even “I don’t know.” Keep the stones in a small pouch or bowl. They can choose which ones to hold, throw into water, bury, or share.

4. Movement Rituals

Sometimes grief needs to move. Create a small daily ritual like “grief dances” or “shaking it out” where your child can move freely to music for 3–5 minutes. It’s not about performing—it’s about letting the body speak what words can’t.

5. Collaborative Drawing

Sit with your child and start a drawing together without any plan. One person draws a shape, the other adds to it. This can go on for minutes or longer. You’re not “making” anything—you're connecting, co-regulating, and giving permission to be in the moment together, side-by-side.

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A Closing Thought for Parents

You don’t need to be a therapist, an artist, or even “good with emotions” to support a grieving child.

You just need to be there.

Attuned. Gentle. Open to the unknown.

If you’re walking alongside a grieving child and would like support, please know you’re not alone. At Awakening Creative Therapies, we offer trauma-informed, body-based, and creative approaches to help children—and the adults who love them—navigate loss with compassion, connection, and care. You are warmly welcome to reach out to explore how we can support your family in a way that feels gentle, grounded, and safe.

Grief isn’t something to fix—it’s something to be with.

And when children are given creative, non-verbal spaces to explore their grief, they’re not just expressing feelings—they’re building inner resources. They’re learning: I can feel this. I am not alone. My body can hold this, and it can also let it go.

That’s the gift of presence.

That’s the healing power of connection.

#AwakeningCreativeTherapies