When Young Children Grieve: Perspectives from Day Care Staff on Supporting Parents and Children through Illness and Loss

Abstract

This study explores how Danish day care institutions provide support to bereaved families based on accounts from staff members. Through eight focus groups, 23 employees from 8 day care institutions were interviewed. Subsequently, using thematic analysis, five themes were generated. These were: (1) coping with critical illness at the institution, (2) supporting parents at the time of death, (3) how day care institutions structured their response to illness and bereavement, (4) the staff’s support needs and (5) advice for other staff and parents in a similar situation. The study finds that when a life-threatening illness and/or death enters the life of a child who attends day care, staff have a strong belief that their role is to support both child and parent(s). However, staff often perceive this as a difficult task and express the need for more guidance on how to provide support.