Ages and Stages in The Grieving Process: Children's Loss and Development
Overview
This paper examines how children experience grief and loss at different developmental stages, drawing on Tamar Granot's book Without You. It analyzes the role of sensory attachment (particularly smell) in infant bonding and addresses the psychological impacts of parental separation on children through various circumstances including war deployment.
What this coursework covers
- Introduction outlining types of loss children experience (death, divorce, imprisonment, separation)
- Question 1: Sensory development and attachment in infants, focusing on smell as a bonding mechanism and source of comfort
- Question 2: Critical analysis of children's experiences during war deployment and associated trauma
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Ages and Stages in The Grieving Process
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Ages and Stages in The Grieving Process
The book Without You: Children and Young People Growing Up with Loss and its Effects by Tamar Granot discusses loss, children, and death. It shows adults wrapping children on their hands when they suffer instead of letting them continue with their lives. The book evaluates the experiences a child has when detached from the parents. Children can lose parents from accidents, shock, or disease. The parents can also separate through divorce. Imprisonment and long-distance residence also separate children from the love and passion from parents as they grow.
Question 1
Infants find comfort from familiar smell, especially from the parents. This smell helps in the development of the child. It connects them to their five senses, including taste — the small acts such as a bonding bridge between the mother and the baby (Granot, 2004). The scent is created right from the time the child inhales amniotic fluid from the mother in the uterus before birth. Further, the smell makes the child feel secure as the newborn can inhale their parents' natural scent, even if they do not see them. The breastmilk scent also connects the baby to his basic need, and the brain alerts the baby that it is time to eat or get nourishment.
The brain triggers a memory even when the child is growing and reminds the child about the past. Through the scent, an intimate relationship where the child feels loved and accepted is formed.