Title: Dealing with the Death of a Child | Psychology Today
Headings: Dealing with the Death of a Child
Kenneth J. Doka Ph.D.
Dealing with the Death of a Child
Coping with the death of a child places a burden on the entire family.

Content: Rita wondered about that. When their daughter died of SIDS, she was constantly crying. Her husband though was active—supporting the SIDS Foundation and talking with other parents who had experienced the loss. They both deeply loved their child—they just grieved in their own ways. It is not unusual that parents, and perhaps siblings, may carry what Dr. Dennis Klass calls, an inner representation of the deceased child. That means that family members are very aware of the age the child would now be and imagine what the child would be like. While such a reaction is both normal and natural, it may become problematic if parents have such an idealized image of the child that living siblings can never hope to match. This loss may affect every aspect of your relationship. Some couples, for example, wrestle with intimacy —needing both the physical closeness even as they may feel reluctant to sexually re-engage. While the death of a child may strain relationships, there is no evidence to support the myth that couples inevitably divorce.