Precious Tributes For A Difficult Time
Infant headstones, by their nature, are perhaps the most precious of all headstones. The death of an infant is among the most difficult tragedies for any family to endure, and infant headstones can help families cope with their loss. Psychologists say that having a special place in which to remember a lost loved-one is an important part of grieving, and infant headstones provide that place. By marking the graves of young lives cut tragically short, infant headstones give families a place of comfort to turn to for years to come.
Infant headstones are typically smaller than other headstones, and they usually are decorated in happy themes of innocent childhood. Infant headstones often have images of baby blocks, pacifiers, hearts, or other symbols of the carefree days of childhood. The goal of such décor on infant headstones is to remind visitors for years to come that that infant being memorialized was, and always will be, a happy, fun-loving, innocent spirit.
Aside from their important role in the grieving process that all families who have lost an infant will certainly experience, infant headstones offer long-term, historical and genealogical benefits, too. Historians or family history experts are often dependent upon headstones for accurate records decades, or even centuries, after a death has occurred, and infant headstones, like all headstones, are perfect for that. In one mother’s case, in fact, doctors characterized her infant’s death as a “miscarriage”, so her child received neither a formal birth or death certificate. Her baby’s infant headstone, then, became the only official record that her child ever existed. “My son’s name will forever be etched in stone,” the mother says in her Internet account of her purchase of an infant headstone.
That woman’s story contains yet another important detail about infant headstones: Because they happen usually unexpectedly, to parents who are often young and on unstable financial footing, burial expenses for infant deaths often cause an undue strain on many families. Infant headstones, while typically less expensive than their larger counterparts, still sometimes cost more than a young family can afford. The above mentioned woman had this trouble in her own case, but she found a great deal of financial help from the Connor Kirby Infant Memorial Foundation, who paid for her infant headstone, among other expenses related to her infants burial. There are a number of other similar groups that offer help to families searching for infant headstones. It should also be noted that many memorial companies offer installment plans for all headstones, including, of course, infant headstones. While there may be several avenues to explore when one needs help in cases such as these, it is important to remember that there is nothing wrong with having an unmarked grave for months, or even years, after the loss of a life.
By their nature, infant headstones are perhaps the most troubling for everyone involved parents, other family members, even casual visitors to cemeteries. But, because their lives were so short, infants deserve the best memorials available. Infant headstones help assure that a child receives a steadfast and loving tribute to a life that, while cut short, will certainly be missed.