title: How do children and funerals mix?
abstract: Although no specific post-funeral syndrome seems to exist, many, if not most, children under the age of six or seven seem not benefited psychologically by attending a funeral. Although some young children can tolerate funerals well if sensitively supported by their parents, the fact is that such support is more often absent than present. One useful indicator of the parents' ability to make the funeral experience a positive one is whether or not the child wishes to attend. A child, no matter how young, who feels secure in attending should usually do so. Conversely, a child who refuses or is steadfastly reluctant to attend a funeral is usually perceiving accurately his parents' inability in their own mourning to provide him with adequate support for this emotionally charged endeavor.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D005655:Funeral Rites; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D002666:Psychology, Child