There’s a moment in a video from The Children’s Room from 2012 that stayed with us.
Mairead is seven years old and trying to explain what it feels like to come to TCR, where other children also have someone in their life who died.
The answer is simple:
“I feel like a regular person there, just like regular.”
Earlier in the video, Jenny, who participated in a parent group, describes something remarkably similar.
Coming to The Children’s Room, Jenny says, doesn’t make grief go away. It doesn’t bring back the person who died.
But it does remind you that “you’re truly not as alone as you feel.”
Different ages. Different words. The same feeling:
Someone here understands.
The video gives us a glimpse of TCR at another point in our history.
The house looks different. Our programs have grown and changed. Our work now reaches children and families in more places and in more ways. Many families, volunteers, and staff have passed through our blue door since this was recorded.
But then Mairead says something else:
“It’s a place where I can remember things, and it makes me feel really safe.”
And suddenly, 2012 doesn’t feel so far away.
Today, we might talk about peer support, connection, and creating spaces where children and teens can express their grief.
But sometimes a seven-year-old says it better.
A place where you can remember.
A place where you don’t feel like the different one in the room.
A place where other people understand something about what you’re carrying.
As we look back on 30 years of The Children’s Room, there is plenty that has changed. There should be. We continue to learn, grow, and respond to what children, teens, and families need from us.
But some things are worth holding onto.
A parent feeling less alone.
A seven-year-old feeling “regular.”
A place where remembering someone who died is always welcome.
Then. Now. Always.
About This Series: 30 Years, 30 Stories is an ongoing collection of reflections from the community that has shaped The Children’s Room over the past three decades. For 30 years, all of our services have been offered free of charge to grieving children, teens, and families thanks to the generosity of our community. Learn more or support our work at childrensroom.org.
