23 May 2024, 19.00 – 20.30

Online Via Zoom

GRIEVING FOR MORE THAN ONE CHILD

We do apologise but this online group is not suitable for anyone bereaved 3 months or less - please contact our Helpline on 0345 123 2304 if you are under 3 months bereaved.

Please can we ask that you join the group using a desktop computer, a laptop or a tablet. We do apologise but it is not appropriate to join a Zoom sharing session using a mobile phone as you may not be able to see the other participants in the session.

PLEASE BOOK HERE

What could bring greater heartbreak for a parent than the death of their dearly loved child? The answer, sadly, is the death of more than one child. This group is for parents who have faced the tragedy of losing more than one child – whether at different times or at the same time, no matter what the circumstances or the ages of your children or babies.

Some parents joining the group may have lost all their children while others may have a surviving child or children - all are welcome in this session.

We hope that in joining this group you might feel a little less alone in the pain of your grief and find it comforting and helpful to share with others in similar circumstances. 

This session will be a facilitated online group using Zoom.

Unfortunately due to the nature of online groups we will be limiting the number of attendees and booking is via our website only.

We will confirm your attendance by email.

Once you book you will receive more details closer to the meeting date. Just a reminder to check your spam or junk email folders if you haven’t received the link for the online meeting by the day of the meeting. Please contact info@tcf.org.uk if you have any questions or queries.

Please note that these online events are run by bereaved parent volunteers. Our volunteers are not professionals and so what we offer is a uniquely warm, comforting and supportive online group organised and facilitated by parents who have also experienced the loss of a child and have found understanding and hope themselves through The Compassionate Friends.

If you are newly bereaved:
Please note, our online support group meetings may not be the most appropriate form of support for very newly bereaved parents. We know how vulnerable we can be in the early weeks and months of our grief and how raw the pain and heartache can feel.

In an online support environment, we will of course do all we can to express our empathy to newly bereaved parents verbally but we won’t be able to offer the very important physical presence and contact that physical groups can offer especially when parents become very upset. Our online meetings tend to be shorter than physical meetings which also means that we won’t have as much time to hear from all group members in the ways in which we would do if we were meeting face to face.

We know that in the early days of our grief, there is a strong need to tell our ‘story’ about the loss of our precious child. We know that this is a very important part of grieving – however, our support groups, whether online or face to face can only offer the opportunity to say a little about your loss and in not too much detail so as to enable everyone to have a chance to speak and also to minimise the risk of anyone attending being re-traumatised around their own loss by hearing graphic details of someone else’s loss. It would help to know how early you are in your loss and whether you are already receiving TCF support – what we don’t wish to do is increase the vulnerability of any bereaved parent by not managing your expectations about what our support group offers and is unable to offer. We may make contact if we need to explore with you whether our online group support is the most appropriate way to support you at this stage in your loss.

Please note this group is for bereaved parents in the UK only – if you want to join from abroad please contact us on events@tcf.org.uk

Here's what a parent said from an earlier group:

'I have been hoping for a group like this for a long time, knowing I was not the only bereaved parent to have lost more than one child and it didn't disappoint.'

It was more helpful than I expected it to be. It helped me feel less alone with it - and I specifically felt it was really useful to be able to consider both (of my sons) at the same time.

‘It was so helpful to meet others that had lost more than one child. It felt I was not alone and understood.’

'The fact that all those who attended were in a similar situation ie: having more than one child who has died. It really helps there are others who unfortunately understand the pain we find ourselves in.'

'I found it particularly useful that it was that really odd combination of losing more than one child. I have thought about attending a group session before, but for instance, if I go to one regarding losing (a child) to cancer, I would find it hard not to include (my other son). There are some specific difficulties with losing two children in different circumstances as it feels somehow wrong to have different feelings about each of them.'

PLEASE BOOK HERE