The following recommendations is excerpted from an article published on April 21, 2004 in the Newton TAB community newspaper:

1. ✴Don’t assume a family has moved past their grief, despite outward appearances months or even more than a year later. Often, family members are numb for a long time afterward.
   

2. ✴Don’t say you know how they must feel unless you really do.
   

3. ✴Don’t tell your own war stories about the cause of death.
   

4. ✴Don’t ask them to call if they need anything because they probably never will. Instead, plan to do favors like laundry, carpooling with their other children or grocery shopping without being asked.
   

5. ✴Do rely on a close family friend in the first few weeks to ask how they’re doing. The family is frequently overwhelmed with messages and can’t personally get back to many callers at that time.
   

6. ✴Do make appoint of using the child’s name rather than avoiding it. To not mention their name is one of the most painful things to a grieving family.
   

7. ✴Do overcome your own discomfort of the situation in order to reach out to the family, even if you have neglected to do so for weeks or even months. It’s never too late to reach out to a grieving family.
   

 Compiled by Sara Weiss