Laura LaBelle and Michelle discuss how children are often overlooked as grievers when death and loss occur. They remind us when death and loss occur children are learning how to manage their grief and that they must adjust to a new identity that this loss brings. Laura stresses the importance of conversation and creating an empathetic space where pain can be absorbed. Laura provides tips for communication and helping kids to process their grief such as memory jars, breath and grounding exercises, models of grief, observing how animals grieve, discussions about grief and playing out scenarios, and involving the deceased by creating traditions that remind the bereaved it is ok to still talk about that person. They explain why it is vital for adults to become more comfortable with death and grief. Laura also shares signs to look for regarding if a child is having difficulty coping with the loss.  "It's a heightened, heightened, heightened anxious time.  And so, oftentimes we don't say anything to kids right away. But they know something is up. They feel it. They can feel it. We think we are hiding it and it's like NO. No one's hiding anything other than the fact that we all see that everyone's kinda freaked out right now. Like nobody knows what to do."—Laura LaBelle  Resources:The Invisible StringTenth Good Thing About Barney Why is Mommy Crying? -explaining early pregnancy loss to young childrenBambi IIBereavement Reactions of Children and Young People By Age Group:https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/bereavement-reactions-children-young-people-age-groupSesame Street:https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/grief/Dougy Center:https://www.dougy.org/grief-support-resources/kidsNew Hope for Kids:https://newhopeforkids.org/Children's Grief  Center:https://childrensgrief.org/ National Alliance for Children's Grief:https://childrengrieve.org/ About Laura:Laura LaBelle holds a Doctorate degree from the University of San Francisco in Education, Organizational Leadership, and has worked extensively with relocated people groups in varying parts of the world who have been displaced by their governments, war, and history of colonization. Over the last 20 years, Laura has been a credentialed teacher working in K12 education as an educator, mentor, and consultant including working with students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Laura frequently consults with groups to create curriculum, experiences, and gatherings on a variety of topics they need help organizing and implementing. Laura is the owner of Life Shifts Companion working as a full spectrum doula, 1:1 companion, support group leader, speaker, and workshop/retreat facilitator. Much of their time is focused in the realm of working in a trauma-informed manner with the birthing, the dying, and those who find themselves in the midst of life changes. High interests are exploring healthy ways of mourning and grieving, and helping those experiencing perinatal loss. Laura’s background with kids and loss began in middle school as a hospital volunteer filling in on the children’s floor in the playroom. Eventually, as a teacher in a high needs, short personnel funded area, Laura gained much experience in the moment often during science when children who’d experienced intense loss would boldly ask questions about how those life cycle lessons connected to the loss of their family members. Learning to navigate those conversations and not leave the students fearful or questioning their familial beliefs, proved to be some of the most important lessons Laura learned. While teaching, Laura began to volunteer with the sick and dying and returned in part to the children’s floor at the hospital they first experienced grief and children. Laura has since worked throughout Thailand and Lao PDR with relocated people groups, often finding themselves listening to the stories told by the traumatized women and children regarding unbearable pain and loss. These relationships that still exist are part of the foundational belief that what people want, including children, is someone to listen, create and hold space, to just be with—a companion. Today, Laura runs a sibling grief group for kiddos who have lost a sibling, and conducts workshops on similar topics. A long term goal of Laura’s is to help communities create public mourning spaces to help normalize our relationships to grief and death. Laura feels deeply that this is one way to help us contextualize and manage our collective grief as a nation, while helping to address our fearful attitudes toward death and grief so that we may truly begin to heal and live. Laura is committed to working with people who have experienced discrimination, trauma and/or loss due to some aspect of identity such as  gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and religion. They have created numerous educational products, and have trained professionals for close to two decades.  Connect with Laura:Website:  www.lifeshiftscompanion.comTikTok: @Let’sTokAboutDeath Instagram:  @spaceforgrief,  Connect with Rev. Michelle:Website:  BirthEaseServices.com /loss-supportFacebook:   Birth Ease Baby Loss SupportInstagram:   @birtheaselossssupportLinkedIn:  Birth Ease Michelle SmithThank you for listening! Remember, you are not alone in your grief.