Helping Children Say Goodbye: How Pet Funeral Services Support Healthy Grieving 

There’s no denying how losing a beloved furry friend is by far one of the toughest things that a family will ever face, and for children, saying goodbye to pets is many times their first encounter with grief. 

While a lot of parents tend to focus on helping their kids move on after losing a pet, the truth is that most children actually need ways to process these tough emotions in a loving, safe environment.

We recently reached out to a pet funeral service provider in springfield ohio to get some professional advice about the powerful, healing role of pet funerals. So, check out the below sections to learn more about how families can celebrate their pet’s life and go about navigating their recent loss together!

Understanding How children Experience Losing Pets 

It’s no secret how children often form very deep bonds with their pets. For them, pets aren’t just animals, because they’re also best friends, constant companions and comfort sources. 

When a beloved pet passes away, it’s completely natural for kids to feel overwhelmed and confused—and this includes younger kids who haven’t quite come to understand what death means. And for older children who do understand death, it’s likely that they’ll struggle with guilt, sadness, and potentially even anger. 

One of the biggest mistakes a parent can make in these situations is trying to downplay the loss of the pet in an attempt to protect their children from grief, because many parenting experts agree that it’s far healthier to openly acknowledge these emotions.

Pet funeral services just so happen to provide a beautiful opportunity for you and your family to express your sadness in a supportive, structured setting—which goes a very long way to help your kids develop emotional empathy and resilience!

How Pet Funeral Services Support A Child’s Grieving Process 

There are many great reasons why pet funerals have blown up in popularity over the last decade or so, and this has a lot to do with these ceremonies offering closure and helping children connect their tough emotions with a very deep form of understanding.

Just like traditional human funerals help all of us process the loss of loved ones, pet funerals provide space for children to remember, honor and grieve their animal companions. Some of the ways that pet funeral services support a child’s grieving process include the following:

• Providing Tangible Closure: When a beloved pet passes away, it’s common for children to struggle with the concept that they’re gone forever. A memorial or funeral service will ultimately give them something concrete to remember and grasp, because it’s a moment to share memories, say goodbye, and see how the rest of the family acknowledges the passing of the pet loss together. 

• Encouraging Emotional Expression: It’s also common for kids to hold back questions or tears because they don’t want to make their parents feel sad, but a pet funeral does a wonderful job at opening the door for these types of healthy conversations. Talking about how much they loved their pet or drawing pictures to say goodbye can be a perfect emotional release. 

• Celebrating The Pet’s Life, Not Just Mourning Loss: Many pet funeral services tend to emphasize celebrations of life, as opposed to just sorrowful ceremonies. This gives children the opportunity to light candles, share stories and decorate a photo board. In this way, the pet funeral can help teach children how to turn their grief into gratitude by helping them understand how love doesn’t disappear when life ends—and that it simply changes form. 

Making The Pet Funeral Service More Meaningful For Kids 

It’s also important for parents to understand how they don’t necessarily have to plan out anything overly elaborate to help their children heal after losing a pet, because the most meaningful pet memorials are typically personal and heartfelt. 

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind to help make your pet funeral experience memorable and comforting: 

• Embrace Participation: Let your kids choose the special toy or photo to include in the memorial services

• Create Keepsakes: Frame a collar tag or press the pet’s paw print in clay as a remembrance that your family can keep forever

• Plant Flowers or a Tree: This type of new life symbolism helps children learn how something beautiful can grow out of times of sadness

• Encourage Storytelling: Have each family member share a favorite memory of the pet or what they’ve learned about love 

A lot of pet funeral service providers will also offer options like cremation with memorial urns, private ceremonies and customized tribute items.

Turning Grief Into Growth Through Pet Funeral Services 

There’s a lot that parents can teach their children when a family unfortunately goes through the passing of a beloved pet, including some of life’s most valuable lessons like empathy, compassion and the circle of life. 

When parents make sure that their kids are included in the grieving process, they send a very powerful message that says it’s ok to feel said and miss the pet while healing at their own pace.

Pet funeral services provide a great way to help children transform their heartbreak into a shared moment of remembrance and love, because they’ll learn to honor the joy that the pet brought to their lives!