Children and teens are not insulated from news or conversations about mental health and mental illness. When children know something is wrong but don’t have information to make sense of it, they fill in their own explanations, which are often scarier than the truth and are not always based in fact. That doesn’t mean we need to tell children every detail when a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, but we do need to answer their questions and provide them with developmental and age-appropriate information they need to make sense of the situation.
"Whoever Saves a Life, Saves a World"
Resources for this section:
- Shomer Collective & Blue Dove Foundation: A Jewish Guide to Supporting Individuals Through Traumatic Death
- National Alliance for Children’s Grief
- This American Life Episode 557 Act 3 – Conversation with Grief Counselors at the Sharing Place
- The Sharing Place – Grief Support for Children
- The Dougy Center
- Do’s and Don’ts for Talking with Grieving Teens from NACG
- Toolkit: Supporting Children Grieving a Death by Suicide from NACG
- When Your Child is Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis
Support Our Work
With your support, we can continue educating our communities and providing resources about mental illness and addiction through a Jewish lens. Right now, we are closer than ever to eradicating the shame and stigma that have stopped so many from talking about mental health and seeking help when they need it, but we still need your support.