Loss of Parents————–An Irreparable Loss

There  is no one way to cope with losing  a loved one. The sadness never completely goes away. Loss of parents is irreparable which also affects the child adversely in every walk of life such as; mental & physical growth, emotional or social development, financial matters, and career. It is the only parents who play a vital role in moral support, character building, and all other nitty-gritty affairs of the child.

Children, who avail themselves the opportunity of their parents’ association in all the development stages like childhood, teen & adolescent ages, enjoy the world more closely. The loss of parents deprives us of our spirituality and disposes of all of our plans.

Loss of parents is not sustainable as there is no substitute for the parents, but on the other hand, it is natural that no living being (including a human being) is eternal and death is its conclusion. Death is very cruel that leaves the bereaved family in an awful condition, especially the children (in case of father) and the widow/ widower (in case of a spouse).

This article particularly relates to the “loss of parents”, therefore, our main focus shall be the hardships faced by the orphans.  Stay with us to know the following sufferings commonly faced by a child due to the loss of his/ her parent(s):-

1. A Traumatic Event: None of the children would have ever thought the loss of a parent as the same is considered one of the most devastating & traumatic events. But, it is a worldwide phenomenon and millions of young children lose their parents in their early childhood. It has been observed that about 2.5 million children below the age of 18 (only in the United States) have been experiencing the loss of parents.   
2. Loneliness: Loss of parents is a great barrier in a child’s development and lifting of his/her career. The parent’s death leaves the child alone in many ways such as love, and sharing happiness or sadness, etc. 
3. Lack of Moral Support: Life is the name of struggle as there are a lot of problems and challenges we face in our daily life. A child demands moral support to grow and progress, the same is only possible if the parents extend moral support. For example, if we get hurt, fall sick, fail in our mission/ examination, or experience any kind of setback, it is the only mother who provides immediate mental support and consoles us. So, loss of a parent (especially a mother) deprives a child of the moral support he/she needs at the juncture. 
4. Lack of Financial Support:  Finance is the lifeblood to get future endeavors. The proverb is “money makes the mare go”. The parents (especially the father) earn money with the object provide his child high standard of living such as better clothing, food, education, health, etc. Loss of the parent means almost closing this chapter.  The child can’t groom up easily in practical life as his father is no more in this world to support him financially.  
5. Affecting Personal Life:  Of course, orphan kids have to face a lot of challenges including undue pressure from the rest of the family. They try to victimize their freedom and they feel isolated from their best friends. Sometimes, a lot of responsibilities are put on their shoulders immediately after the death of their father/ mother. The parental loss affects their well-being and normally  and they have to face the following health issues: 

Poor psychosocial well-being Depression somatic complaints  post-traumatic stress

Behavioral change Anxiety   Lower self-esteem   Improper schooling

Sleep disorder Mental Issues Sexual risk behaviors Academic Issues

6. Dependent of the Surviving Parent:  Losing one of the parents is no doubt a great loss to the child. Both mother and father are complements of each other. Father helps the child in his/her character building, confidence building, and other techniques that are quite helpful to lead a successful life.  Mother’s gentleness, politeness, undue favors, and security can hardly be found in any other personality of the world.  In short, both of the parents play multiple roles for their child and provide every possible comfort to make him happy. In some cases, a father has to do more than a mother does and vice versa. However, the loss of a father or mother at a very early stage deprives the child of many blessings. Under such circumstances, the child has to depend upon the survival parent which is also a dilemma both for the child and the parent. 
7. Loss of Open Communication:  Parents want their child to enjoy a positive parent-child relationship and an environment in the best interest of open communication. Unfortunately, the parental loss changes the whole scenario and gives the child a different environment that is not good for mutual trust-building. Therefore, such children lose their self-confidence due to the loss of open communication

Conclusion: 

It is noteworthy that we often read the obituary notifications in the newspapers. Sudden deaths, heart failure/ cardiac arrest, kidney failure, road accidents, air crashes, wars & battles, epidemics & natural disasters, and murders are the usual causes of deaths.  Whatever the cause may be, people are dying as per their turns. The recent wave of coronavirus( COVID-19) has taken the precious lives of millions of people at world-wide level regardless of gender, age, sex, region, color, country or creed, etc., and may have deprived many children of their parents. 

In a nutshell, we need to understand emotions of the young children who have lost their parents by normalizing their grief process to reduce their tension. Time is a good healer; finally, the children shall start living their normal life. The death of a parent leaves the child sad & alone and what to speak of the grief after the death, that is quite miserable! 

Recap of what we’ve just learned: 

Loss of parent(s) is irreparable as there is no substitute for the parents. The minor children face a lot of hardships after the death of their fathers or mothers, but the following are very common: 

A traumatic event Lack of moral support Affecting personal life

Loneliness Lack of financial support  Dependent of the survival parent Loss of open communication