In my thesis, I researched how preschoolers perceive the death of their grandparents from
the parent’s point of view. In my theoretical work, I defined the concepts of death and grief in
modern society, described a preschooler’s understanding of death, and explained different ways
of grieving. In the theoretical part, I also focused on the responses of preschoolers at the time
of their grandparent’s death, the support and assistance given to a child in the event of the loss
of a grandparent and justified the role of social work in helping a preschool child who is in the
process of grieving. In my empirical work, based on a non-random ad hoc sample of eight
parents of preschool children, I collected qualitative data and later processed it qualitatively.
With the help of qualitative data, I developed the main findings of the study. I have found that
children, according to their parents, perceive the concept of death as something horrible or sad.
Parents believe that they are the ones who help their child to perceive death differently than
they would otherwise. Children react differently to the loss of their grandparent. Some are
scared, others are silent and do not wish to talk. Most parents turn to books when interpreting
the concepts of death, dying and grieving, but they do not talk to their children beforehand about
death and mourning. They do not explain the funeral specifically. They explain to children in
different ways that their grandmother or grandfather will never be back. In doing so, most use
the interpretation of the metaphor of heaven and angels. When it comes to the role of social
work, parents feel that a social worker should first and foremost have good interpersonal skills.
Most parents have no personal experience with the social work profession and feel that it is
more difficult for children to talk about the death of a grandparent with someone who is not
emotionally involved in the situation
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