There are certain things that are inherently difficult to talk about. Death is one of those topics and more than likely, you try to avoid the subject at all costs. There may be times that you are confronted by the topic and it can go a long way in helping you to feel uncomfortable, to say the least. That is especially true when you are talking about children, because they are naturally curious about the subject but it isn’t always the easiest subject to breach.
It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old, death is going to be difficult to manage. Being able to accept it as well as to communicate with others about it can go a long way in helping to make the grieving process something that is manageable. If you aren’t able to communicate your feelings, you may find that you are having a hard time getting through the grieving process. That is also true of children, who are typically quite confused along with having all of the same feelings that you may be feeling.
Since children are unable to grasp the concept of death, it can make it difficult to grieve over losing a loved one. They have a nonjudgmental mind, however, and are curious so they are more likely to want to discuss the subject.
There is a funeral Museum in Vienna’s famous Central Cemetery and they have put together something interesting. It is a Lego kit based on funeral scenes.
“We established the first product made of LEGO components in 2016,” museum spokesperson Dr. Florian Keusch said. “First it was a historical tram, which brought dead bodies to the Viennese central cemetery and was used in Vienna between the first and second world wars. This tram was for collectors, and then we made a truck and a historical hearse.”
There are over 330,000 graves and tombs spread over 590 acres in the cemetery. It includes many people that you probably never heard of as well as some famous individuals, such as Beethoven and Strauss. Even though they have a reverence for the dead, they still are interested in those who are living.
“In 2018 my team and I were thinking about new products made of LEGO components. We had a few questions from grieving customers like: “Can I take our children with us to the funeral of our grandfather?” or “my child is grieving, what can I do?” and so on.” Dr. Keusch explained. “So we were brainstorming, how we can help children to overcome their grief. We have developed the crematoria, the cemetery with an excavator, the mourning family with a female and a male dead body and a skeleton and a historical horse buggy.”
“We have integrated the Wiener Landesverband für Psychotherapie (Viennese Association of Psychotherapists) and ensured that the new products made of LEGO components were useful for therapy with children, and for parents with children, who were suffering from their loss. With these products, they can describe the process and the children can process their grief.”
People around the world are paying attention to these Lego set and the majority of the attention has been positive. “LEGO crematoria” and didn’t get the intentions behind these products,” he told us.
“They were made by an Austrian company – we created the design together with them and they produced the packaging, the manual and they organized the bricks and put it together in the box. It is not an official LEGO product, so we call it, for example, ‘crematoria made of LEGO components.’”
Three sets are available including a full cemetery with tombs, cemetery personnel and excavators as well as a crematorium with a working casket.
You can also do some role-playing with a funeral parade and a grieving family.
People had a lot to say about these Lego sets:
