It's one of the biggest, hardest things that can happen in a person's life, especially to a child. Children who experience a major loss in their lives may grieve differently than an adult. Learn empathic approaches to help a child cope with the loss of a loved one. 

​Whether it's a parent's death, sibling, extended family member, pet, or a close friend can be extremely difficult for a small child to process. It can also be a confusing experience with recent changes, limited understanding or an inability to express feelings can put a child in special disadvantage in regards to their social and emotional development. Coping with a child's grief can add additional strain to educators, parents and guardians with sudden outbursts will only deepen a child's anxiety or delay the grieving process. Instead, take time to guid the grieving child through honest conversation in the terms that a child can comprehend. 

1. Help a Child Express Their Feelings
In an interview with Austin PBS Trevor Romain mentions, "The biggest problem is that adults tell children, "It's going to be okay." That doesn't help the kid feel better. That makes the adult feels better because they dealt with it. What we need to do is be an ear to the children to allow them to express their fears and feelings." Trevor also adds, "I think most of the time adults tell kids what we think we they need to hear instead of listening to what they are asking for." As a way to help a child express their feeling in a healthy manner, encourage them to express it in a creative form like a drawing or writing it down in a journal, and open the discussion for them to share it with you. 

2. Be mindful of Special Occasions like birthdays, holidays, and death anniversaries 
While some holidays and special occasions can be a joyous celebration, this can also trigger a sensitive psychological and emotional state to a child who loss a loved one. Whether it's a recent loss or it's been some time, the holidays can elevate feelings of sadness and depression to a child and/or their family. Not every child will experience grief in the same way, but every person will experience it at some point in our lives. Simply asking how a child is feeling can offer the right words of comfort during the holidays. A child will appreciate being seen, heard and valued. 

 3. Do Something to Honor the Deceased Person 
Doing an activity to remember someone special who have died can also bring a valuable significance to a child. Maybe print out photos of the person and put them into a special album. Plant a tree or flower garden in their memory. Plan a get-together with family and friends, so collectively the child can remember memories with others. A child may want to make a monetary donation in honor of the person who died in their lives to a special organization the deceased person maybe affiliated or associated while they were alive. 

4. Hold Memories Tight!
The child may have lost someone special in their lives, but something that will always be cherished...their memories. Ask the child to think about how the person meant to them and the fun times they shared together. There's one very important thing a child needs to know and it's that remembering can help the deceased person live on forever....in their heart and mind. Another idea is to place sentimental keepsake items in a special container like Trevor Romain's Memory Box to help remember the lost loved one. 

5. Grief is a Journey! 
Grief is an experience that every human being will encounter in their lives and a child will not feel 100% every day and it's important to validate their emotions on a regular basis. 

1. Listen to some soothing music. For five minutes, listen to some instrumental sounds or jam out to one or two of your favorite tunes that you can focus on before returning back to your day. 

2. Relax with your friends. Reach out to friends who would be happy to listen and could possibly help you with your stressful situation. 

3. Start a hobby! This could be playing a musical instrument, new sport, or do something artistic. 

4. Watch a movie or play a game, but make sure it's not a scary one! 

5. Read a good book or journal your thoughts. No matter if if you read a chapter or complete an entire novel, reading word for word in a book can be a good relax mechanism to lower a stressful moment! 

6. Practice deep breathing. Breathe in and imagine your breath is a wave: it comes in through your toes and washes up your body all the way to your head. As you breathe out, imagine wave washing back down through your body, down to your toes, and out to sea. Do this a few times until you feel more peaceful. 

7. Volunteer your time. Helping someone else is a great way to help yourself. Find a  non-profit organization within your community or perhaps a cause that you care about. This creates a win-win-win opportunity because you're feeling better to help others, the charity gets the help they need, and you're giving back in a meaningful way. 

8. Do some chores. It may sound crazy, but tasks like raking leaves making your bed, or cleaning your room can actually help you calm down. 

9. Spend time in nature. A stroll to your garden, neighborhood park, national park, or to a body of water like a lake, stream or ocean can help reset yourself into the present moment. 

10. Love your pet. It's a proven fact that animals can lower people's stress levels. Play with your dog, pet your cat, listen to your bird chirp, or watch your fish swim. These are great ways to relax. 

Giving Tuesday is a global movement that reimagines a world built upon shared humanity, radical generosity and all about making a difference. 

​At The Trevor Romain Company, we are committed to giving back to support children worldwide, but we know we can't do it without your help. Below are items in our store that a portion of the net proceeds go to support children charities including national 501(c)3 non-profit The Comfort Crew for Military Kids and The Botshibelo Poverty Alleviation Village in Magaliesburg, South Africa. 

Net proceeds of the items directly below goes to the charity

Portion of the net proceeds of the items directly below goes to the charity

In honor to celebrate World Kindness Day and to encourage more kindness everyday, here are some simple ways to perform acts of kindness. 

"Kindness Is..." is a new series of one minute inspirational videos that takes the form of endearing and animated vignette designed to foster, empathy, kindness, respect and consideration, in our community. Created by best-selling, award-winning, children's author and illustrator Trevor Romain, "Kindness Is..." revolves around a group of whimsically illustrated animals and neighborhood critters who demonstrate what kindness is really about. 

1. Kindness Is...sending love to people who are far away who really need it. 

2. Using your talents to spread joy is another way to show kindness toward others. 

3. Being thoughtful is another form as an act of kindness. 

4. Doing good things for others without them even knowing. 

5. Knowing small things can make a big difference. 

Let us know in the comments below on an act of kindness that you have done recently. 

November is a time of reflection for Trevor! A month that he lost his father and a number of memories that seems to resurface during this time of the year. Read a South African story he shares on an annual basis he never wants to forget.

Bullying is a horrible experience that many kids go through at a very delicate stage in life. It is difficult to deal with the fear and anxiety it invokes. Below are some tips if you know of a child that have been bullied...

Tell an adult. If that doesn't help be sure to tell another adult. 

Ask your classmates or friends for help too. If necessary you can even ask people you don't know. Bullies don't normally mess with people in a group. 

People can't help or support you if they don't know that you have been bullied. It's important not to hide away from it but to speak up. 

Many kids don't report bullying because they are afraid they will be bullied even more or that others will think that they are a crybaby or a tattletale. 

Some kids who have been bullied feel lonely, heartbroken, empty, sad, ashamed or depressed. Others feel angry, frustrated, fearful, scared, or full of rage. Let someone know exactly what you're feeling. It's easier for people to help you if they know how you feel because they can identify with the feelings you are expressing. 

Try not to react or believe what a bully says about you. Bullies succeed when they get a reaction. They feel more powerful and believe they have even more control over you if you cry or appear afraid. And even though it's tough sometimes, try your best to stay calm and confident. 

If at all possible ignore the bully and walk away. It may be hard to control your anger but it's important to remember that fighting back can make bullying even worse. 

For National Bullying Prevention Month, it's important to know the truth about bullying. Below are five myths to keep aware of about the matter. 

MYTH #1: People who bully have low self-esteem, which why they pick on other people. 
It's been reported that people who bully have high self-esteem, but they want to feel even more powerful and in control of situations. 

MYTH #2: Only boys bully! 
​All of kinds of kids bully, including girls! Sometimes girls will pick on girls and boys will pick on boys. And girls will sometimes pick on boys and boys will sometimes pick on girls. 

MYTH #3: Getting bullied is a normal part of growing up! 
This myth is just an excuse to encourage bad behavior. If you think bullying is 'normal', you don't say or do anything about it, then nobody else does, either. Meanwhile, the bullying still continues. 

MYTH #4: The best way to handle bullying is by getting even or fighting back! 
It may feel like a fight or flight situation in terms to bullying. If you want to get even with your bully with physical force or a weapon will only make things worse and you may be the person getting more hurt. 

​MYTH #5: If you ignore bullying, it will stop. 
​Some bullies may get more aggravated if you ignore them, especially as bullying could be their way to get attention and may be provoking you for some type of response or reaction. 

For National Bullying Prevention Month, take advantage of our 20% off sale happening now through November 1, 2021 here.

Recently, The Trevor Romain Company launched the Romainiac Ambassador Program to serve as a reward system for our new and loyal customers as well as expand our resources to help kids become happier, healthier and more confident. 

The Romainiac Ambassador Program is an affiliate initiative to reward people for recommending our products to their audiences. Through an easy four step process, Romainiac Ambassadors instantly get to share about how our products can help others become happier, healthier and more confident. The program is also an outlet for anyone who would like to make an additional income to fund projects, fundraise for charity or anything the person desires. 

No matter your path to us, we're grateful for your support in what we do! We welcome who support our brand and want to grow together. Whether this be educators, bloggers, school counselors, content creators, parents, caregivers and more, who are willing to recommend a customer to our products as a Romainiac Ambassador. 

It only takes four easy steps to join the Romainiac Ambassador Program. First, one must fill out our application and carefully read through the program terms and policies which is reviewed by a representative from the Trevor Romain Company. Once approved, we will send you a link to create an account with your unique 15% off promo code to share with your own community of family, friends and colleagues. Once someone uses your code at checkout, you will receive a percentage up to 15%  from the purchase at the beginning of the following month. And that's it! 

[This giveaway is now Closed!] We’re thrilled to give away 1 8-DVD set of Trevor Romain's award-winning animation series courtesy of Emily Dawson.