What will you tell your kids?
so, when your pet dies, what do you tell your child when s/he asks "where does fluffy go when he dies?"
just curious, cause I've sometimes wondered what I would tell my kids (if I have any)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Ulean Breedlove on -
We buried Molley, in our back yard, we plan to go and buy some flowers to plant over her so that the kids have a place to go and morn her whenever they feel the need to.
My daughter woke me up the other day and said, mom what if the ants were to put molley back together again and bring her back side to us?
I chuckled and said that can't happen honey but you know you can always love molley and remember her and the times you had with her. She was a good dog.
My daughter said yes momma I know.
When she asked me where she went I told her she was in the ground, and was finally out of pain. That it happens to all life, just as the seasons come and go so do we. She is 4 but she got it I think. She does have a beautiful imagination though and I allow her to do it. Instead of directing her thoughts to believe something I just give her the closest to the truth that I can, and allow her to mourn in her own way. Not that I am not supportive, we do support her, however she does need to learn the mourning process. This is something that we all go through when loosing a loved one, and something she will no doubt have to come to terms with to pass. We keep a picture of the dog and the kids out, and just take the time to answer questions as truthfully as we can.
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on -
Awhile back I was over at my nieces house, she is the I don't believe but kinda believe type and she has to amazingly adorable daughters who are damned smart. That day when I showed up at their house it was in complete turmoil her youngest daughter, 5, well her bird apparently died that day. Now my niece wanted to just toss it in the trash but the youngest wanted to bury the bird in the back yard. So an hour or so later here we all are out back, freezing, hole in the ground, toilet paper filled jewelry box and dead bird at the forefront. After we bury the bird the youngest turns to us all doe eyed and full of tears. Seeing as we are the all mighty and knowledgeable adults she says "Where did the bird go when he died? Did he go to heaven?". I couldn't answer because she is not my kid and my niece just suddenly went all mentally challenged, looking at me to come up with something. Before either of us could say a word her older daughter who was 8 at the time. Says "Really? he's in the box you just buried him in, heaven isn't real its just something people talk about to make themselves feel better about dieing, but at least you can come talk to him when ever you like because he is right there!" and she point at the freshly packed dirt. Apparently this was an OK answer for the youngest and we all went inside.
All I can say though is when I heard her say that I was ecstatic. Mentally I was doing back flips around the yard. Here she was, 8 years old and more mentally aware of reality then most adults.
I don't have any kids yet but I pretty much made the decision to be as upfront and direct as possible. I want to protect them and if not lying to them is the way to protect them then I will. Last thing I want is for them to go to the church for the answers I don't give them.
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Permalink Reply by Moria Jackson on -
We havent lost any pets yet. I have 3 kids and a cat. We saw a dead cat decomposing on the side of the road when we were walking (no car at the time... walked everywhere and it was on the only road we could use). It was really disgusting and the kids saw it before I could shield them from it. They now know exactly what happens when a kitty dies. The cat stayed there for days and even though we crossed the street well before and well after the poor thing, they still tried to look. They dont seem too traumatized. Perhaps because it wasnt our pet. I think it helped that we had talked about it before, with silly definitions of what alive meant. To them, if you can eat and go potty, then you are alive. When you are dead, you dont do any of that.
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Permalink Reply by sukhdeep on -
When our family dog had to be put to sleep we let out daughter know that truth on both levels. We told her his physical body was going into the ground where he will "sleep" and become part of the earth we all belong to. As far as beyond that we were very truthful in telling her no one knows....but she may see him again in her dreams and always in her memories....
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Permalink Reply by Ava Wilson on -
We're going to explain to our daughter all the same way with death: when you die, you go to sleep for a very long time, like Sleeping Beauty. You sort of just go to sleep and don't wake up.
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Permalink Reply by Moria Jackson on
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Don't be surprised when she tries to kiss something awake. LOL (imagining my kids doing this)
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Permalink Reply by Ava Wilson on
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The only real repercussion I see arising from the explanation is her worrying if we'll die if we go to sleep or if she goes to sleep. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
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Permalink Reply by Doug Reardon on -
Oblivion.
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Permalink Reply by Miles on -
The truth told in a compassionate way is always the best. If their heads aren't already filled with heaven and hell nonsense, then not much more should be necessary.
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Permalink Reply by Cara Coleen on -
Eh... I think honesty is the best policy with kids. Sure, you can fluff things up depending on their age, but I was more disturbed when I found out my parents were total hypocrites than when my mother was honest about Santa not being real. Most Christians don't believe animals go to Heaven, so they usually tell their kids that. That's what my parents told me. It wasn't traumatic. I was just sad they were gone... no matter how it was explained.
I just don't think it's healthy to shield kids from reality. Someone else posted that kids should be allowed to be kids, and I totally agree. I don't think we should rush them into things, but I also don't think we should lie when they ask questions. If they're asking, it's probably because they suspect things aren't what they've been told they are. Their intuition should be rewarded. How else can we expect them to turn into critical thinkers if we don't nurture their newly inquisitive brains?
All kids are different, but the truth never traumatized me as much as a blatant lie.
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