One of the many things children must learn, is how to cope with loss. Losses may be relatively minor and require only a brief adjustment process or they may be more significant, causing major changes in life, either temporarily or permanently. One kind of loss that young children may experience is death or loss of access to parents or other significant adults through divorce, relocation, hospitalization or institutionalization, or incarceration. Another is the loss of home because of eviction or natural disaster. Usual reactions to loss include feelings of sadness and regret.
Fear is another common early childhood response to loss and grief.
Young children do not express these feelings like adults do, and they express them differently at different ages. At different ages, children adjust to loss differently, depending on their intellectual and emotional development and social supports. Adults must not let children's reactions get lost in the turmoil that accompanies loss. Caregivers should expect that children of all ages may show eating or sleep disturbances, irritability, regression to earlier behavior patterns, or changes in desire for comfort and contact. Children who are coping with loss need familiar routines and structure, individual attention, reassurance, and consistency.