Helping Children Cope With Death by Robert V. Dodd. Library Section 8F: Life Skills, Grief. This short overview tells how to explain death to children, what to say, and more importantly, what NOT to say. SO important. Children often feel very confused and angry when someone they love dies. They feel bereft. Often, though, they have no way of expressing their feelings, or perhaps they are ignored as the adults around them go about the business of arranging for funerals, visitors, and so on. The kids may play or read as though they are holding up well, but underneath, they feel the same feelings the adults do, except magnified. It is important that children be allowed to cry, to mourn, to express their feelings. If they do not have the opportunity to do that, and feelings are sublimated, those feelings surely will come out in other ways later on, in sleep disturbances, nightmares, tantrums, depression, or a drop off in school performance and interest. This book should be used as an overview, and then other books read to find out more about specific age groups or individual circumstances. ( )