How Wind Phones Can Help Kids Feel Connected to Late Parents

"In Otsuchi, Japan in 2010, something was built that touched those who were trying to navigate the difficult terrain of grief. Separate from the hustle and bustle of the city, or the noise of traffic jams connecting rural to urban counties, something wonderful was built in nature. They called it a wind phone. It looks like something out of a Doctor Who episode featuring the time-traveling Tardis, but in actuality it mirrors what most phone booths looked like once upon a time."

"There is a phone inside, but there aren't any connecting cords. You go into the booth just like long ago, pick up the rotary or push button phone, and simply say what you need to say to the person you lost. Fast forward to 2026, and there are hundreds of wind phones scattered all over, made by people who are trying to honor their late loved ones."

"Talking to a loved one who has passed on can be highly therapeutic. Nature is also healing, so to be out in a phone booth, someplace where it is serene and quiet, even while your emotions on the inside are tumultuous, can be a cathartic experience. Not everyone can go to Japan to experience a wind phone but anyone can recreate it in some form at home. The experience can be especially therapeutic for grieving children."

In Otsuchi, Japan in 2010 a wind phone was built to help people navigate grief. The wind phone resembles an old phone booth with a non-connected phone that allows users to speak aloud to a lost loved one. The quiet natural setting and the act of speaking provide catharsis and therapeutic release. By 2026 hundreds of wind phones had been created by people honoring late loved ones. The wind phone concept can be recreated at home as a coping tool for grieving children and teens. Surviving parents and family members can build a simple dedicated space to allow children to speak to a deceased parent. The goal is to provide emotional support and a way to process difficult days, not to convince children that the deceased will answer.

Read at Psychology Today