It is always difficult to let a child know that someone they love has died. This is something that parents fear to have to do. If that is what you are going through now and you are not sure how to begin to have this conversation, you will want to consider a few things. Directors of funeral homes in Philadelphia, PA have some suggestions that can help you let your child know what has happened.
You want to remember to allow your child to ask questions. They are bound to have many of them, and you do not want to discourage them from it. You want to be as honest with your answers as possible. If they ask you something to which you do not have an answer, you want to let them know exactly that but reassure them that you will do your best to find out for them. This can be very helpful for a child.
You want to be honest with what you say to your child. For lots of parents it can be tempting to try and make the news of the death less painful by using different phrasings and euphemisms, but that is not something that you want to do. You want to be as honest as possible with your child so that they understand what has happened. Using certain terms, like “passed away”, can confuse children, so try to avoid that.
Another thing to remember is to let them know that you are also dealing with grief. Many times, children are afraid of letting adults know what they are feeling because they are afraid of upsetting them. If you share what you are going through, too, you can encourage them to tell you about what they are feeling, as well.
You want to also give your child the option of attending the funerary services for the person. Many children can benefit from going to these services, offering the closure they need to get through the loss. Do remember that if your child does not want to go to the service, you should not force them to go. That can be detrimental to the healing process. Respect your child’s wishes about whether or not they want to go to the service.
These are some important things you want to remember when getting ready to let your child know about the death of a loved one. It is never going to be an easy thing to go through, but it is something you want to take some time to talk about with your child. You can learn more about all of these things when you reach out to a Philadelphia, PA funeral home like us. With our years of experience, we can ensure you can lay your loved one to rest and that you can honor them as they would have wanted. You can give us a call right now or you can visit us today to get started.