Jumping Through Puddles: Supporting Children and Families Through Serious Illness, Death, and Grief

How do we talk to children about death? What do they actually understand, and what support do they need? In other words, why is it important for us to consider the needs of children when a parent, grandparent, or other significant person is dying?

This interactive Learning Institute session invites participants to explore these questions through the lens of a child life specialist working in palliative, hospice, and bereavement care. Participants will examine how children and youth understand illness, dying, and death across different developmental stages, and how these understandings shape their emotional and behavioural responses.

The session will introduced evidence-informed, developmentally appropriate communication strategies to support conversations with children and families. Emphasis will be placed on reducing common barriers to communication, addressing misconceptions, and supporting caregivers in talking with children about serious illness and end of life. Participants will also consider how to support family systems navigating complex dynamics in times of stress and loss. This session is intended for both healthcare professionals and psychosocial care providers who work in medical or community settings, including palliative care, intensive care units, hospice, or community grief supports.

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Understand how children and adolescents understand illness, dying, and death across key developmental stages.
• Recognize common challenges and barriers in supporting grieving children and families, and gain strategies to address these within their professional role.
• Identify practical strategies that support children’s coping, emotional expression, and meaning-making during anticipatory grief and bereavement.

Jumping Through Puddles: Supporting Children and Families Through Serious Illness, Death, and Grief
Wednesday, October 21st, 2026, from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm (Eastern).

Laura Jin, MSc, CCLS

Laura Jin is a Certified Child Life Specialist working at Kemp Care Network in Hamilton, Ontario. Her clinical work focuses on grief and bereavement, with specializations in anticipatory grief and children of adult patients.

She provides individual and family-based support to community clients as well as in-house support to hospice residents and their families.

Laura is also a Sessional Faculty member at McMaster University, teaching undergraduate-level courses in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and Department of Social Psychology.