Children's world is shattered when a loved one dies. On the other hand, children know how to relate to death naturally.

Nowadays, children are often left at home during funerals. Perhaps it is thought that death would shock children, or that other funeral guests would be disturbed by children's voices, for example. It may also be that the mother or father wants to attend the funeral without the child, because taking care of the child would make a difficult situation even more difficult for them.

However, according to experts, children should be included in the funeral. Death should not be hidden from the child, but it is good for them to see grief and rituals related to death, such as funerals. Read more about how to talk to a child about grief.

Children's clothing at funerals is more free than that of adults. Instead of black, children can wear other dark colors or white. It is enough for the child to have clean and possibly monochromatic, somewhat festive clothes in which he is comfortable.

Parents would not need to stress about the child's behavior either, because children are children even at funerals. By their mere being, they might even bring comfort to other funeral guests. Often, especially older people are happy to see children at funerals as well.

Source: hyväthautajaiset.fi