My wife sometimes accuses me of being too friendly.  You see, I’m okay in a crowded coffee shop or elsewhere, asking if I could share the table with already seated customers. . . .while Angie would simply leave the shop because it was too busy.

 

I try not to be intrusive on other people because I have times I don’t want to be bothered as well.  However, I’m met some great friends and had great discussions with strangers who were willing to share their table with me.

 

One of those times was at the Baltimore Convention Center during the 2022 National Funeral Directors Convention.  I randomly sat down with two Brits attending the convention, one of whom I learned was Great Britain’s President of their National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD), John Adams.

 

I learned that Adams works in a family-owned funeral home, Perry & Phillips, which you can read about here.  The business was founded in 1835.  In sitting down with Adams I learned a little of his background, including that his mother died when he was 12 years old.

 

That experience for him, as you can read about here, was a rallying cry for his term as President of NAFD.  Adams believed that a missing element for young people was the lack of learning about how death, dying, and bereavement can affect a child as he or she grows up.

 

During his preseidency and beyond, Adams pressed forward in his quest to have all children in Great Britain be taught about death,dying, grief, and bereavement.  He began a petition asking Parliament to look at that question as it continued to refine its public school requirements.  In addition, he met with King Charles to bring attention to the issue as you can read here.

 

There are now results —  Adams’ quest for children to learn that “Death is part of Life” has culminated with Adams being informed and Parliament now requiring that before a student finishes Primary School they must understand “That change and loss, including bereavement, can provoke a range of feelings, that grief is a natural response to bereavement, and that everyone grieves differently”.

 

Here are the new “General Requirements” for Primary School students in Great Britain to know in the “General Wellbeing category” effective September 1, 2026 (#8 is the new requirement that has been added):

Curriculum content:
1. The benefits of physical activity, time outdoors, and helping others for health,
wellbeing and happiness. Simple self-care techniques, including the importance of
rest, time spent with friends and family, as well as hobbies, interests and
community participation.
2. The importance of promoting general wellbeing and physical health.
3. The range and scale of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise,
nervousness) that they might experience in different situations. Pupils should
understand that worrying and feeling down are normal, affect everyone at different
times, and are not in themselves a sign of a mental health condition.
4. How to recognise feelings and use varied vocabulary to talk about their own and
others’ feelings.
5. How to judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is
appropriate and proportionate.
6. That isolation and loneliness can affect children, and the benefits of seeking
support.
7. That bullying (including cyberbullying) has a negative and often lasting impact on
mental wellbeing and how to seek help for themselves or others.
8. That change and loss, including bereavement, can provoke a range of feelings,
that grief is a natural response to bereavement, and that everyone grieves
differently.
9. Where and how to seek support (including recognising the triggers for seeking
support), including who in school they should speak to if they are worried about
their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions
(including issues arising online).
10.That it is common to experience mental health problems, and early support can help.

 

• Related — John Adams also hosts a podcast titled “Death: A Changing Industry“.  You can access a history of his topics here.
• Related Article — “Bridgnorth funeral director “delighted” as he wins campaign to get bereavement education on school curriculum”.  Shropshire Star (Great Britain)
• Related Article — “Stuart Anderson, Member of Parliament, welcomes government support for Grief Education”.  Conservatives (Great Britain)

 

Funeral Director Daily take:  From my perspective, making children aware of the consequences of grief and bereavement is extremely important in society.  According to this article and video report from ABC News 1 in 12 children (8.3%) in America will experience the death of a parent before they turn 18 years of age.

 

According to Micki Burns, the co-author of the report cited in the ABC feature, “Children who have lost a parent can feel isolated because it’s difficult for other kids to understand grief and loss. Recognizing that [losing a parent or sibling] is prevalent is important.  It’s something that we need to start to talk about more openly and more easily so that the children don’t feel so isolated.”

 

As she intimates, knowing about grief, loss, and bereavement is not only a good thing for those that lose loved ones, it is important for those who are friends of the bereaved so that they know about the emotions and feelings of one who has lost a parent.

 

The ABC article mentions that in America, the state of West Virginia has the highest percentage of “childhood grief” at 13.3% of all children in the state while the state of Minnesota has the lowest percentage of childhood grief.  The article postulates that poverty and resources availability may be one of the factors in the difference.

 

Finally, again from my point of view,  I think the more that we can teach the “soft sciences” such as grief and bereavement to our children the better society we will live in.  From my experience on the Board of Regents at the University of Minnesota I found no shortage of scholars among our youth — We are in good hands in that regard.  However, many of those same students would ask about classes that would help them navigate life as to finances, mental health, and good living practices.  I was always disappointed that I could not get the powers that be to offer more classes in those disciplines . . . . .so, I’m extremely appreciative that John Adams has!!!

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• How J. Garcia Funeral Home uses Runway’s API to create unique experiences for their clients.  Runway
• Environmental regulators approve White Marsh crematory despite opposition.  MSN from the Baltimore Sun (MD)
• Coroner’s office identifies man 55 years later after exhuming his body from the cemetery.  News video and print article.  KVLY News – Fargo  (North Dakota)

 

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”