Explaining the concept of death to your kids could be a hard thing to do. Some parents even aren’t ready for this issue. There is also a parent who thinks that parenting gets harder from here. They could find it frustrating too since every kid is unique and they don’t know how to respond the subsequent questions.
BlondeMomBlog has a very good example of explaining death to her 4-year-old girl, Caitlin.
Some parents may be able to find their own ways to explain this matter to their little children.
If you don’t have ones, these tips below will help you enlighten about death to your children, in an ordinary way.
1. When somebody dies and your children ask why, it is good to tell them that the person dies because his body is not able to work anymore.
2. Try to avoid using euphemisms, such as “grandma went to sleep”. This will make your children afraid to go to sleep because they think that they will not go back to their mommy and daddy when they sleep.
3. It is alright to express your emotions about death. You may say that you are feeling so sad that your children’s grandpa died, but you feel relieved that he is with God now. This will avoid your children from getting more worried about the effect of death.
4. Help your children deal with somebody’s death by memorializing him or her. This could be done by letting your children express their emotions through positive deeds, such as writing a letter to the deceased, singing a song for him or her, or keeping his or her picture.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t frighten your kids or make them more upset because of your explanations. Discussing about what you should tell your children about death with your spouse is a good idea.
You shouldn’t be worried too much, too. It will become easier when your children get older.
this nice article
Thanks so much! Yes, she has been asking all kinds of questions. It’s hard to know just how much to talk about but we’re trying to do it very matter of factly, but also without being “cold.” Thanks again!
Jamie