When a parent has died Lesson 518 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 44 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: the lesson at school .
0 When a parent dies, they don't come back; that is the hardest truth there is. 1 The sadness that follows is called grief, and it doesn't go in a straight line. 2 On Mother's Day Mollie's class makes cards. 4 Whatever feels right.» Mollie makes one for Mum, with a sunflower because Mum loved them, and at home she stands it by Mum's photo. 5 She feels sad, and glad she didn't have to pretend. 6 Grief turns up in everyday moments. 7 At recess a kid brags, «My dad's taking me to the Bears game Sunday!» (the Bears are an American football team.) Darnell goes quiet; his dad used to take him. 8 His buddy Marco just says, «Yo, come with us, my uncle's got an extra ticket, no cap.» («No cap» means no lie, for real.) Darnell is sad, then grateful. 10 His teacher asks him to stay back. 12 Grief can look like anger, sadness, tiredness, even giggling at the wrong moment. 13 All of it is normal, and talking helps; charities such as Winston's Wish help grieving children in the UK. 14 Many grieving children are scared of forgetting. 15 One night Elin realises she can't remember Mam's voice. 16 Dad digs out an old video of Mam singing at a barbecue, badly, and they watch it together and cry and laugh. 17 Now Elin has a memory box: the video, Mam's bus pass, a shell. 18 Maeve finds Mam's perfume and sprays it on her pillow; it smells like a hug. 19 Freya-Lou's mum died when she was a baby. 20 When friends ask, «Do you miss her?», she says, «I don't know. 21 I never knew her.» Both missing and not knowing how to miss are okay. 22 Her dad tells her stories so she can know her a bit. 23 Kwame is sick of hearing «Sorry for your loss». 25 You're allowed to say, «Thanks, can we talk about something else?» Tiana tries to be extra good so Mum won't be sadder: tidy room, no fuss, all smiles. 26 One night Mum finds her crying under the duvet. 28 We can be sad together.» Children don't have to protect a grieving parent. 29 The first Christmas without Da, Cian's family hangs Da's favourite bauble, a wonky robin, right at the front of the tree, and they tell the story of him falling off the ladder in 2019. 30 Cian laughs and cries at once. 32 Ruby-Ann says, «She died.» «Oh. 33 Sorry.» It's awkward, and then it passes; a short answer is enough. 34 Bodhi's dad loved the beach. 35 Since he died, Bodhi is scared of the ocean. 36 One arvo (afternoon, in Australia) his mum takes him just to look. 37 The next week he paddles. 38 Grief doesn't vanish, but bit by bit it gets easier to carry. 39 When someone dies, they do not come back; the sadness people feel after a death is called grief. 40 Grief can come out as sadness, anger, tiredness, fear or even laughing; all of these are normal. 41 Special days like Mother's Day or Father's Day can hurt; making a card for the parent who died, or for someone else who cares for you, is fine. 42 Friends help a grieving child most by including them, not by avoiding them. 43 Photos, videos, stories, smells and memory boxes help children remember a parent who died. 44 A child may not remember a parent who died when they were very young; missing them or not knowing what you feel are both okay. 45 People say «Sorry for your loss» because they mean well; you can thank them and change the subject. 46 Children don't have to stay extra good or happy to protect a grieving parent; families can be sad together. 48 A short answer like «She died» is enough when someone asks; you don't owe more. 49 Fear after a loss is normal, and small, slow steps help. 50 Talking to a trusted adult helps, and charities such as Winston's Wish support grieving children. ← previous The parent who left, and a new partnernext → Parents far away: the army, work abroad, prison↑ back to Everyday This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/518-when-a-parent-has-died/