The Widowed Parent: Grief, Loss & Children

With divorce statistics reaching record numbers in the United States, many parents find the security of another adult, in the child rearing process, is suddenly missing. As a single parent, there are many challenges to be faced in raising children and trying to maintain financial and emotional stability. But, for another group of women, there is a slightly different dynamic - the mother who is suddenly widowed.

Undoubtedly, the loss of a spouse is considered what of the most life altering complications a woman can experience. With grief and overwhelming loss, we are suddenly thrust into a world of managing a home and children all alone. On top of loneliness, grief and stress, many widowed mothers feel a sense of anger over the sudden twist of fate their lives have taken and often suffer from a sort of emotional and physiological paralysis in which even the most simple of decisions become difficult. This is, essentially, a woman's natural way of shutting down to the sudden stress that has taken hold.

When a spouse passes away, the widowed mother often finds she faces a great sense of worry over the welfare of her children. With the loss of a father, the children also suffer a great sense of emotional and physical stress and now must come to terms with the financial impact the loss will have on their homes.

One of the key areas in dealing with grief and loss, after the loss of a spouse, is the process by which you, personally, to face your grief. There is no timeframe that is appropriate for grieving. All too often, friends and family members will appear, even months and years after the death of your spouse, and try to justify the basis on which the grief should have ended. The key to your own emotional well being is to focus on when and if your grief is ready to subside. While the grief and sense of loss will never go away, we all have a method for overcoming it and for some individuals, our method to overcoming grief may not be in tune with their own thoughts and opinions.