Supporting Children's Grief
Course Outline
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Course Summary
- Course Name
- Supporting Children's Grief
- Course Code
- PDMC 100
- Course Hours
- 10
- Course Duration
- 10 weeks
- Course Credits
- 0
Course Description
Course Overview:
Grieving is never easy. When a child experiences loss, parents and caregivers often feel unsure about how to help. Supporting Children’s Grief is a compassionate, practical course designed to empower adults with the tools and confidence to support children through the grieving process in healthy, age-appropriate ways.
This course will help caregivers understand how grief manifests in children—emotionally, behaviorally, and developmentally—and provides strategies for nurturing emotional resilience at home. Whether your child has lost a family member, a pet, or gone through a major life transition like divorce or relocation, you’ll learn how to create a safe, open space for them to express their feelings and find healing no matter what their personality or attachment style is.
Who It’s For:
Parents, guardians, teachers, and caregivers of children ages 0–13, or anyone supporting a grieving child.
Course Information
Course Objectives
- Understand grief theory and concepts
- Have a basic understanding of stages of development from infants to early teens
- Apply Grief Tools for Working with Children
- Understand and Recommend The Appropriate use of Rituals for Children
- Identify Complex or Prolonged Grief in Children
- Practice Self-care for the Care Providers
Access to further resources, helpful websites and journal articles can be found on the Student Resources page.
Technology Requirements
To successfully complete a course, students will need to have regular access to a reliable computer with access to the Internet, a personal email account, Microsoft Word (or an equivalent to read and write .doc or .docx files if necessary), and Acrobat Reader (or equivalent to read .pdf files if necessary). In addition, students will require access to a printer and scanner if documents are required to be filled out and submitted.
Required Assignments
| Assignment | Description | Assignment Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Module One | Introduction to Grief Theory and Concepts | - |
| Module Two | Developmental Stages of Grief | - |
| Module Three | Grief Tools for Working with Children | - |
| Module Four | Appropriate Use of Rituals for Children | - |
| Module Five | Complex or Prolonged Grief in Children | - |
| Module Six | Self-care for Care Providers | - |
| Total | 100% |
*ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE REQUIRED and must be completed with a grade of 100% to complete the micro-course with a "PASS".
Teaching Methods
This course is delivered online via a package of course materials. The materials include unit summaries, reading assignments, and unit assignments.
Method of Evaluation
The final grade for this course will be calculated and weighted based on grades received for the Required Assignments listed above.
Course Policies
Grading Criteria
Micro-courses are assigned "PASS" or "FAIL". To receive a "PASS", students must satisfactorily complete all required assignments with a grade of 100%.
Completion Requirements
Students have 10 weeks to complete the micro-course. All assignments outlined in the “Required Assignments” section must be successfully completed with a grade of 100% to obtain a "Pass" for the micro-course. Micro-courses are Pass or Fail. Courses that are not completed or extended by their contracted completion date will automatically be graded as incomplete (INC).
Extensions
All assignments are due by the contracted end date. Due to the nature of micro-courses, circumstances may arise where an end date needs to be adjusted. In such cases, students must contact the administrator no later than 10 days past the completion date.
Students may apply for up to three (3) extensions totaling in an additional 12 weeks past the original contracted end datePenalties
At all times, students are required to abide by the ECEBC Code of Ethics, submit original work (no cheating or plagiarism), respect all staff members and members of the community, submit assignments on time, submit extension requests on time (if required), submit complete assignments which follow the grading criteria, act professionally, maintain a clear criminal record check for the purposes of working with children, and comply with all the requirements of the Student Enrollment Contract. The “Academic Dishonesty Policy” and “Dismissal Policy” are available to read in the Student Handbook.