BEERSE: New registration for star children offers consolation for parents

BEERSE: New registration for star children offers consolation for parents

In the municipality of Berese, a sensitive step for affected parents has started: the official registration of "star children". This affects parents who lost their child during pregnancy or shortly after birth. According to aarschot.be , parents have a right to vote, while children who were less than 140 days old can unfortunately not receive official registration.

But that doesn't mean that these children have no place in the hearts of their parents. Both BEERSE and AARSCHOT offer symbolic recognitions about a "star register" where parents can register their star child. The personal registration document serves as emotional support and is helpful in processing the mourning process. In Aarschot there is also the opportunity to use a "star meadow" in the Kloesebos cemetery - a common urn grave for lifeless children, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.

common place for grief and commemoration

The "Sternenwiese" in Aarschot is designed with a Mozaik artwork and colorful "star tables", which offer the parents the option of hanging up a personalized band on a "star tree" in order to publicly express their grief. This gesture is seen as a sign of sympathy and support for the parents, who are often alone with their loss. According to the website of November.de , the funeral of star children in Germany has been legally recognized since 2013, whereby parents have the opportunity to enter their children in their civil registry register and have buried in the cemetery.

In many cities there are also various contact points for help and mourning support that support parents who fight with the loss of a "star child". Grief and self-help groups, clinical pastoral services and volunteers who offer photography of star children are just a few of the offers of help that make up an important part of the grief coping.

The death of a child, regardless of the stage, remains a difficult to process for many families. The new measures in Beerse and other municipalities are therefore not just a step in the right direction, they are a clear sign of the appreciation of grief and pain that many parents feel. The image of a "star child", be it as a "butterfly child" or "angel child", should arouse more understanding and compassion in public.