Family Connections

Good luck with that. Most adults don’t understand death and how to deal with it.

What to Tell your Child when Fluffy Dies

The death of a pet is tragic to an adult, and whereas your child will probably want a goldfish tomorrow; today you have to deal with the death of the household pet. This can be a good introduction to the unfortunate fact of death, so that when grandma or grandpa leaves this earth, hopefully you’ll have something to go on. The old “bury it in a shoebox in the backyard with a Popsicle stick cross” is not a bad idea. Have a memorial service for your pet and if your child is old enough, encourage them to express their emotions through poetry or writing. If they have a little trouble with their letters, offer to write it down for them if they will tell you what it is they’d like to say. If they’re not old enough
for expressive writing therapy… the goldfish thing will probably work.

Where did Grandpa Go?

I’m not going to go into religion here because every religion varies just a little bit… Some even more than just a little bit. That one’s going to be up to you. Keep in mind also, that your child will play off of your emotions. If you are upset; your child will be upset. If you do the best you can to keep calm and take it in stride, chances are your child may be able to attempt the same. And trust me when I say, I know how difficult that can be. I have been crushed beyond belief by the death of pets and human loved ones as well.
Be sure to avoid phrases like ”he’s gone to sleep… forever”. People wake up from sleep, they don’t wake up from death. Even worse, the kid will never want to go to sleep again!

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