Explaining dying to a 5 y/o?

[mommaU4]

One of my dds asked me the other day about dying. I'm not sure where she heard it from but she said "Is it true when you get old you die?"
I said that's usually the way it happens. I didn't go into other factors like illnesses, accidents, etc. I told her that mommy was still "young" and it wasn't something she had to worry about happening anytime soon and that hopefully when the time comes, she will be all grown up with a family of her own.
Now she tells me she doesn't want to grow up. How do you explain this to a 5 yr old in a way she can understand but without scaring her?

 

[Miller1412]

That's tough. There are some really great books for children on the subject, the one that comes to mind right now is by Maria Shriver.

My DD asks about it, and it works for her to talk about it being part of nature. She's a nature buff so that's easy for her to understand. I try not to overexplain, I just leave it as it's a part of life, and one day it will be great to be in heaven. For now, it's not something to worry over.

Good luck. I think that's about the toughest question out there.

 

[mommaU4]

That's tough. There are some really great books for children on the subject, the one that comes to mind right now is by Maria Shriver.

My DD asks about it, and it works for her to talk about it being part of nature. She's a nature buff so that's easy for her to understand. I try not to overexplain, I just leave it as it's a part of life, and one day it will be great to be in heaven. For now, it's not something to worry over.

Good luck. I think that's about the toughest question out there.

Thank-you. I'll check it out.

 

[always quiet]

Unfortuantely, I've never had to have death expained to me as a child and my own children learned way too early what it is as well. I lost my brother when I was 3 back in 1967 and my children lost their brother in 1993 when my 3rd child was stillborn. I tried to explain to them that when you die, it's kind of like moving into a new town, where people you knew a long time ago are waiting for you. You can't see them for awhile, but someday, we'll all live in that same wonderful town and we'll be together again. "Goodbye" is not forever................

 

[aprilgail2]

Unfortuantely, I've never had to have death expained to me as a child and my own children learned way too early what it is as well. I lost my brother when I was 3 back in 1967 and my children lost their brother in 1993 when my 3rd child was stillborn. I tried to explain to them that when you die, it's kind of like moving into a new town, where people you knew a long time ago are waiting for you. You can't see them for awhile, but someday, we'll all live in that same wonderful town and we'll be together again. "Goodbye" is not forever................

Same with my daughter, she lost her godfather (my godson) when she was 3 and he was 14...then an aunt died, then an uncle died so she just sort of grew up knowing people can die at any age,,,, she just says they go to heaven and have a big heaven party (I am not religious but if that is what she wants to believe then fine.)....she does know though that their bodies get during in cemetaries since we go there all the time to put flowers on her godfather.

 

[SueM in MN]

Another good book is The 10th Good Thing About Barney , about a little boy whose cat died.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

That's tough. There are some really great books for children on the subject, the one that comes to mind right now is by Maria Shriver.

It's called "What's Heaven?" by Maria Shriver. It's a beautifully written, excellent book geared toward young children. I totally recommend it!

 

[Nancy]

Another good book is "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" I forget who it's by though. My oldest DD had a girl in her 3rd grade class die suddenly in her sleep and my MIL bought her that book. It is geared towards younger kids and talks about the cycles of life.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

I know exactly how you feel. My 5yo has recently been asking the same thing. My cousin died recently, and I went to the funeral with my parents. I guess he heard me talking about it, and asked. I just tried to talk to him about Heaven.

However, he threw me for a loop yesterday. He has a life-threatening peanut allergy. Until now, we've only told him that it could make him very, very sick, he would need a shot, and have to go to the hospital. He's been in the hospital before (NOT allergy related), so that was enough to explain the seriousness of it. Yesterday, with Halloween just the day before, we were talking about the candy he could or couldn't eat. He asked if eating peanuts would make him die, like my cousin died. GULP! I answered truthfully, but wasn't quite sure how to go about it. I will definitely look into those books y'all have mentioned.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I second the book "Fall of Freddie the Leaf"!!! I got it to help my DS when my grandmother died. Not only did it comfort him, but it helped me tremendously as well. It is a very comforting book.