Occasion HandbookFunerals 13 examples

What to Say to Parents Who Have Lost a Son

Say less. Use his name. Promise nothing except that you will still be here, and then be here.

What to say

  1. 1 I am so sorry.
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  2. 2 I have no words for this.
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  3. 3 I am so sorry about Tom.
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  4. 4 I will keep saying his name if you want me to.
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  5. 5 I am here and I am not going anywhere.
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  6. 6 I loved him.
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Later, and much later

Bereaved parents describe the second year as harder, because everyone else has moved on.

  1. 7 I know what week this is.
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  2. 8 It is a year today. I remember.
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  3. 9 Tell me about him. I want to hear it.
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  4. 10 Still thinking of you both.
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If you were his friend

  1. 11 He talked about you all the time.
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  2. 12 Can I tell you something he did that you might not know?
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  3. 13 I will be at everything. Every year.
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Questions people actually ask

What do you say to a parent who has lost a child?

Say you are sorry, use the child’s name, and offer nothing but your continued presence. Do not search out loud for a bright side — that search is the thing people remember afterwards.