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What NOT to say to a parent who’s lost a child

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Illustration (PHOTO: Getty Images/Gallo Images)
Illustration (PHOTO: Getty Images/Gallo Images)

"You are still young, you can have more children."

Many grieving parents have to deal with the insensitive, if well-meaning, comments from other people.

So, as the old adage goes – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Here is a list of five things that should never be said to a grieving parent.

1. You are still young, you can have more children

Children cannot be replaced. Saying this implies their child can just be replaced with another

2. Let go and move on

Anything that implies that a parent should "get over it" is a no-no. There is no letting go of a loss like this.

3. Everything happens for a reason 

When one is grieving, nothing seems to have rhyme or reason. It may come across as insensitive, even though you mean well

4. At least...

'At least you have a child left'… 'At least you can have more children'… It may seem to the grieving parent as if you’re dismissing the child they lost. There is no bright side to the death of a child.

5. At least he/she wasn’t older – it would have been so much harder

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