bonneyarmstrong.com - there *is* a word for it

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there is a word for it

i read somewhere that although there is a term for children who have lost their parents (orphans), there is no term for parents who have lost their children. what better term than kinderlos? it comes from the german for child (kinder) and without, lost, devoid of (los), and was inspired by the term for those who have lost or been forced from their original country (heimatlos, which means exiled from or bereft of homeland, and describes those unwillingly driven from their country). parenthood is a place all its own, and the term kinderlos evokes a parent's completely unwanted departure from that state of being with what was loved and held so dear. there are the terms stillbirth or miscarriage, but what about children lost under other conditions? now there is a word for it. (in german it means those who haven't had children, childlessness, but it's such a good term i think it fits this situation well.)

this is in memory of my son jamie. i lost him before he was born because of chernobyl, so i have never been kinderlos myself, but i saw the pain around me, and thought this might help. i hope it does.