PigtailsOfDoom wrote:
I agree that it's important for kids to learn about death and all, I just think two is a bit young for that. Three or four are probably better. Although as you all know, I don't have kids so it's not like I'm a great authority or anything. It's just my opinion.
If granny passes away and her granddaughter is two years old, going with the "she ran off to Costa del Sol and won't be back for a while" probably won't work. Lying is probably more traumatizing, especially if the kid remembers your lie later on. If you wouldn't lie about granny, why lie about the pet?
Death isn't a traumatizing thing. We have a tendency to make it traumatizing because of our own inability to handle the situation, but kids are brutally literal in their view of the world. Telling Ana that Bella has died and gone to doggy heaven is not going to traumatize the kid. Telling her that her favorite dog in the whole world has abandoned her and likely won't return... I can't even begin to imagine the complications involved there.
KidsHealth.com wrote:
Avoid using euphemisms, such as telling kids that the loved one "went away" or "went to sleep" or even that your family "lost" the person. Because young kids think so literally, such phrases might inadvertently make them afraid to go to sleep or fearful whenever someone goes away.
