Death: Talking With Kids About The End

Life Kit: Parenting

NPR

Kids & Family

4.6 • 640 Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2019

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Whether it's a goldfish or Grandma, every child will experience a death at some point — and their parents will likely struggle to explain it.

Here's what to remember:
- Be honest and concrete. The cat wasn't put to sleep, and Grandma didn't go on a long journey.
- Don't overwhelm kids with too much information. They need time to process.
- Make sure kids know they're still surrounded by people who will love and support them.
- Don't be afraid to show emotion.
- When it comes to deathbed visits or funerals, tell kids what they might see and give them a choice.
- Keep the hope alive!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
0:05.4	RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
0:12.1	Learn more at RWJF.org.
0:16.8	Hey, Corey.
0:17.8	Hey, Anya.
0:18.7	So we both just recently lost our beloved family cats.
0:22.5	Yeah, Ruby.
0:23.6	And boo.
0:24.6	Yeah.
0:25.1	And at the age of 16, both of them.
0:27.6	And I remember you were telling me about a story that happened when you were a kid, too, about losing a pet.
0:33.2	Yeah, this was the first time death came to my family.
0:36.2	For me, anyway.
0:37.1	And it was my dog, Mingo.
0:38.9	He was a black cocker spaniel.
0:41.0	He went to the vet's office.
0:42.2	He'd been really sick.
0:43.7	And he didn't come home that night.
0:45.5	And I remember the next day, which just so happened to be my seventh birthday,
0:51.2	we're at the dinner table celebrating.
0:53.5	And I just keep asking my parents, where's Mingo?
0:57.5	This doesn't make any sense. Where is Mingo? Oh my God. They must have been so tortured about it.
	...

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