Sometimes adults are so caught up in just surviving, a child's voice is lost in the den of circumstance. Consequently, they sit alone, they think alone, they fear alone, they cry alone, and they face loss alone. Regardless of the health or dysfunction of a child's family, innocence makes no room for loss. Loss first encountered changes a life forever whether the experience is the death of a pet, the loss of a friend or family member, or the critical loss of a sense of well being that plunges a tender soul into a tornado of chaos. Regardless of our good intentions and right motives, avoidance is communication and it exacerbates fear.
Reassurance desperately needs to be communicated to every child in an age-appropriate manner.
That response will largely determine the quality, the direction and the impact of our lives. Any separation has a negative effect on a child even if the separation is in the best interest of the child. In the event of the removal of a child from a primary attachment figure, it can be expected to take two years for the child to be able to reach a place of resolution. Because of the effect of loss and grief, children cannot emotionally survive separation followed by multiple placements. Loss after loss causes the ultimate loss of hope.