Death of a parent: Effects on children

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015 Last Modified: 04 May 2017

Death of a parent: effects on children

Thesis:

Apparently, the death of a parent can be a dramatic experience for all members of the family, particularly for children, and can often have both short-term and extensive effects on the children. Even if the effects of parent's death are heartbreaking, to live healthy and balanced life, members of this type of family must cope the reality and go on with their lives, leaving the fear and emptiness behind.

Audience: Doctor Costa

Purpose:

To show how difficult is for children to cope with the death of a parent. When we think of a family, we most often visualize that family must have children and two parents. Nowadays, this is often not an example in many families throughout the world; single parent families are increasing dramatically. No matter how hard single parent try, he/she cannot replace the natural demand of a child for both of parents. There are several causes of the rise of single parenting across the globe. This essay will concentrate on the death of a parent. Apparently, the death of a parent can be a dramatic experience for all members of the family, particularly for children, and can often have both extensive and short-term effects on the children. Even if the effects of parent's death are heartbreaking, to live healthy and balanced life, members of this type of family must cope the reality and go on with their lives, leaving the fear and emptiness behind.

If family lost one of the parents, this affected perhaps children in a same level (or much more) as a mother/father that been left behind. One of the most common short-term effects on the children is the fear. This fear could “drag” children to melancholy and lose of self-esteem. Children are incapable and completely helpless of surviving alone, as a result, they might have great fear of insecurity. Consequently, children might practice a devastating fear of the unfamiliar, fear of not acknowledging what the future might hold, and where they might live, and fear of being left alone in the world. As an example, after my uncle's death, we could see the fear in the eyes of my all five young cousins. We could indeed “see” how their souls were broken; one could read the sorrow in their eyes. It took some period for my aunt to cope with tragedy and give hope for her children with the aid of other family members and the district society. It can be dense for a widower parent to build acceptance of this event and assist the child in having a pleasant and balanced life.

The second, extensive effect is the feeling and living with emptiness. As life goes along, perhaps a widower parent and his/her children leave the fear behind and (deep in their heart) never let go of pain and sorrow. This tragedy could create a great impact of emptiness in children, which might leave a “gap” in their spirit forever. I assume that the emotional part of the children's world is entirely divided apart with this emptiness. This feeling can take away the happiness of childhood and worse of all; emptiness could create emotional isolation within the children's personality. Their pain and sorrow might forever engrave in a hidden place of their remembrance. Children carry on searching for the lost parent for an extended period, even until they became parents themselves. Perhaps one method of filling this emptiness can be the creation of fresh happy memories.

Finally, in families where a parent died, it difficult to accept the circumstance that nothing is going to be the same; however, children in these families are in great deal of challenge. I believe, after sometime children might fight the fear by coping with reality and willing to commence a fresh beginning with the support of a parent, friend, or society. Moreover, it is not easy to fill the emptiness of their hearts and souls until the day of new happiness. To sum up, letting go of the fear, emptiness, pain and sorrow could allow children to look forward to happiness, understand, and accept the reality. Only then, joy can enter to their memories and guide them to start a new beginning.