There is perhaps nothing more heartbreaking than the death of an infant or child. Although the loss of any loved one is grievous and sad, losing a child can be particularly devastating to a family. It violates the natural order of things, the natural progression of the generations. It just seems so unfair and hard to justify! There isn’t much you can do to help a new grieving parent, but knowing a bit about baby memorial gifts might help.
Sometimes there’s added stigma that society places on bereaved parents. If an infant is lost to miscarriage, stillbirth or other perinatal causes, outsiders seem to discount the significance of the loss.
Now, you and I know how unreasonable this is, but it happens all too often. I guess the thinking is that if you didn’t know the child for very long, then the grief should not be as great. Parents are urged to get over the loss as soon as possible, and “get on with their lives”. After all, you can have more children…
And if an older child dies, friends and acquaintances are only too aware of how great your loss really is. In fact, they often try to minimize it because it hits home so hard… it could have happened to them! So once again, you find outsiders wanting to get past the tragedy as soon as possible, and urging the parents to do so, too.
Don’t be guilty of failing to properly acknowledge the enormity of the loss when your friend loses a child, for whatever reason. Be there for them, and understand that they need a full and lengthy bereavement in order to heal from their personal tragedy.
No, a sympathy gift is not necessary. The gifts we suggest below are certainly not mandatory, and we don’t want to “guilt trip” you into thinking they are. What the bereaved parents need most right now is the contact and warmth of friends and family. Show them that you care and support them, no matter how uncomfortable and overwhelming the situation.
A gift is not necessary. Your presence is.
That being said, we present below a few sympathy items that would be appropriate for bereaved parents, if you feel it might help.
Baby Memorial Gifts To Celebrate Their Life
Baby Memorial Sympathy Basket
A gift basket with a few snacks, some dried fruit, a teddy bear and a journal would be a good gift. Parents who lost a child won’t be cooking right away. Having some healthy snacks handy would be very helpful. You can buy a gift basket from Amazon or another online company. This sympathy bascket has a nice variety of goodies and some plush animals to comfort bereaved parents.
But you don’t need to buy a basket. You can make one yourself, with items you know your grieving friends to appreciate.
You can add a note that says:
“May the constant love of caring friends soften your sadness,
may cherished memories bring you moments of comfort,
may lasting peace surround your grieving heart.”
Here are a few items you can use for your baby or child memorial sympathy basket:
- essential oils set for relaxing and soothing
- baby loss candle
- salty crackers
- a jar of pure honey
- some ready to eat chicken noodle soup in a can
- pretzels
- nut mix
- wildflower seed bombs to spread around their property
- grief journal (there are several I like called letters to my baby in heaven)
Baby Memorial Sympathy Jewelry
You can’t go wrong with a piece of memorial jewelry for a grieving parent: a classy and long-lasting token from the heart.
You may consider gifting one of these memorial necklaces to each bereaved parent:
Memorial Necklace * Remembrance Jewelry • Mom Dad Grandmother • I Carry Your Heart Charm
I Carried You Miscarriage Necklace Baby Loss Angel Charm Jewelry GiftMiscarriage Necklace, Mother of an Angel Gift, Baby Footprint Angel Wing Jewelry, Loss of Baby
Baby Memorial Books for Bereaved Parents
Perhaps the bereaved couple will find useful information and comfort from one of these highly-rated books:
When The Bough Breaks: Forever After the Death of a Son or Daughter
Shattered: Surviving the Loss of a Child
The Unspeakable Loss: How Do You Live After a Child Dies?
Didn’t find the perfect gift on this page?
Try one of these:
Condolence Sympathy Gift Baskets (non-food)
Food Sympathy Gift Baskets (nourishment)
Unique and Unusual Sympathy Gifts
