Thread: Question for non-religious moms

Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I appreciate it. I've been telling Kaden since we found out that papaw was sick that he was very, very old. Just Wednesday, we went in and saw him and I could tell he wasn't going to be around much longer. So I had a conversation again, telling him papaw was very, very old. I was very surprised when Kaden said, "mommy is not old." and I said no. Then he said "mamaw (MIL) is...

My grandfather just passed away a few months ago and I kept it pretty vanilla for the kids (even my 6 yr old) i just told them that great grandpa was very sick and the medicine wasn't working anymore, so he went to heaven and we won't be able to see him anymore. Neither of them really asked any more detailed questions so we're leaving it like that for the time being. We will see all of our family at Christmas (we live in CT and...

Although I believe in an afterlife - I just thought I'd post and say I agree with Nikki. Keep it simple. What I will recommend - DO NOT SAY HE WENT TO SLEEP AND IS NEVER WAKING UP. Freaks kids out. "What if I never wake up?" "Daddy's sleeping is he going to die?" That kind of thing. Death = Different from sleeping. That's all I'd add. I'm so sorry that you lost your Papaw. Very sad....

I agree with the others.....keep it simple. I would personally just say "Papaw was very sick and he was older....and many times when older people get very sick....they die." You could also explain to him that because Papaw died, he will not see him anymore. So sorry you lost your Papaw. Will keep you in my thoughts in the coming days.

I'm sorry that your papaw died. I haven't yet figured out what to say about death to my kids. I agree that simple is best. I would probably also try to consult an expert on child development by finding a book or website that addresses the topic. When I read up on the topic, I'm often surprised by how different little kids process information. It all makes sense once I read about it but it's not stuff I would naturally come...

My Dad (step-father) died when Arietta was 2 and Julian was 5. We had been to dinner with he and my mom as a goodbye dinner (they were moving to Big Island...took them to the airport on Wed...Thursday Morning he was dead when my mom woke up. Both kids came to the viewing. We told them that Pop-Pop's body was no longer working properly...when our bodies don't work right for us anymore then it's time to leave them behind...which...

Crystal, my dad just died last month.? The boys were home with us for the week making the arrangements.? We went to his house to visit with my step-mom (the boys step-grandmother) and there were lots of pictures of dad around all week.? I told Robbie that Grandaddy died but I don't think he understood. Not one time did?either boy?ever ask where Grandaddy was or anything.? I asked?Robbie where he thought Grandaddy was and he just said,...

You've gotten great advice already. I would add to not be afraid to use the word(s) dead/death/die. If they haven't heard it yet, it would be a good time to hear the correct work (as opposed to "sleep' like the pp said). Also, if you refer to the reason that he was old and/or sick, be sure to emphasize he was VERY VERY old and VERY VERY sick. To JS, we are old. So, like the fear of sleeping, you don't want him to...

My mother died over 10 years ago but we do talk about her as I want her to know that I had a mom and she has another grandmother (there are pictures of her all over my house). We tell her she got very sick and the doctors couldn't make her better and that she died and went to heaven. She does ask questions and I answer them in age appropriate ways. Heaven to us is different than the religious heaven so I'm not afraid or nervous of...

There isn't any "right" answer here - you just have to do exactly what you're doing, and play it by ear to figure how much your kid is able to (or even willing to) understand. Catty and Devin are only a year apart in age, but?Catty absolutely understands death at the level of an adult, right down to being able?describe Daddy's death, how, when, where it happened, what happens when you get cremated, how we have his...