‘Bereaved children need our support’
Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare, but I was shocked to find out how little support there is for sibling grief. The Child Bereavement Network recently said that a large percentage of young adults struggle to overcome the grief of losing a sibling – sometimes even a decade on.
Because of this, I support the charity Darcey’s Dream, which was set up by parents who lost their daughter Darcey from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome at just nine and a half weeks old in 2017. Darcey had a twin, Layla-grace, now two, and three-year-old sister Emelia-paige – and Darcey’s parents found there was little support for the young siblings on not only how to understand the loss of their sister, but also how to cope with it.
Darcey’s Dream supports newly bereaved parents and children, and offers emotional and practical support in the form of sibling distraction therapy and fun days out. I’m joining Darcey’s sister, Emelia-paige, for a sponsored swim soon and I’m so thrilled to be involved in any way I can.
My four-year-old son, AJ, was seriously ill in hospital from viral meningitis when he was six weeks old, and in my darkest moments I feared I might lose him. I clearly remember thinking about my daughter, Faith, who was only three at the time, “What if she has to grow up without him?” The thought of her going through the rest of her life with that loss was heartbreaking. It’s so sad that young children have to go through that, but I’m so glad there are now charities like Darcey’s Dream out there trying to help.