Talking About Death

© shoutingforha

I had an interesting conversation with an acquaintance the other day.  A member of their extended family had passed away and she was struggling with if/how to talk about it with her eleven-year-old.  She was concerned that her child would be traumatized by the thought of death.

I don't know about you, but we talk about death here at the Ha house. We always have. The topic is not something that the hubby and I have shied away from discussing with our boy.

The boy had his first experience with death just before he turned two. Our dear friends lost their infant daughter. Upon hearing the news, I began to weep. My sweet boy, who was speaking in complete sentences at the time, wanted to know why I was crying. I told him the truth, simply, in a way that he could understand.

A mere nine months later, we found ourselves in Colorado, honoring the memory of my father-in-law. My hubby had lost his father and my boy had lost his Pop Pops.

For nearly a year after their deaths, the boy was convinced that if he released a balloon into the air, it would eventually reach his Pop Pops and our friends little girl in their heavenly home.  Our neighborhood grocery store had a practice of giving a balloon to all of the kids during check-out.  Needless to say, the boy sen dozens of balloons free the instant we made it into the parking lot.  It was really quite sweet.

In recent years, the hubby and I have talked with the boy in detail about what would happen should both of us die. We want him to be informed so that there will be no fear of the unknown. Our conversations have given the boy a great deal of peace.  He knows that his future is secure, even if the worst happens.

What about you, dear readers?  Do you talk with your kids about death?