Death is one of the most difficult topics to talk about for everyone, whether a child or an adult. Especially when it comes to explaining death to children, things get even more complicated. Every child either wonders what death is, asks questions, feels anxiety, or one day experiences the death of a relative and wants to know what it is.
How can death be explained to children in the healthiest way?
*As in every subject, it is very important to make explanations on this subject based on the child's developmental period. You should pay attention to the characteristics of the period he is in and whether he has acquired abstract thinking skills.
*Since death is an abstract concept, you may need to make these explanations concrete when making these explanations to children.
*First of all, you should use the word 'death'. It is necessary to use . Explanations such as "he passed away, he lost his life, he became an angel, he went to God's house" will only cause confusion in the child. Therefore, it is important to use only the word 'died' for dead people.
*It is necessary to explain to the child that death is a universal fact, that everyone will experience it and that it is an irreversible process.
*If the child If you need to explain someone's death, in order for the child to feel safe, the people who will explain this should be the child's parents or someone with whom the child has an emotional bond.
*The place where you make this statement may be a quiet and calm place where the child does not have good memories and where he will not go too much in the future.
* All living things are born one day and die one day. People, animals, plants, all living things are born, grow, live, change and die. You can help the child concretize the abstract concept with examples such as everyone and everything changes, night happens, day happens, birth happens, death happens, the weather turns sunny, the weather turns rainy.
* When someone dies, that person's body no longer works, he cannot breathe, eat, speak, see, or think.
*Each person may die for different reasons, some may die because they get very sick, some may die because they get too old, and some may die due to unexpected events.
*It is important to give the news of death to the child as soon as possible. is. It is necessary to tell the truth about the questions he asks and to be honest so that his trust is not damaged.
* Taking children to funerals is also a matter of the child's level of development, emotional state and his/her own wishes.
*The physical contact and emotional sharing you establish with your child during the mourning phase is as valuable and important as ever. Hugging, kissing, touching. Talking.
*It is not right to take the child away from the family during this process. Children also heal by sharing their pain.
*Each culture has its own forms of mourning. If there are laments in your funeral ceremonies, you need to prevent the child from being exposed to them for a long time. Returning to your routine and daily life as much as possible will give your child confidence.
*Instead of hiding your feelings from your child, you can be a model for him to share his feelings and concerns by sharing your feelings with your child. If it is not overdone, crying and saying that you miss the deceased is a healthy sharing of emotions.
* If your child's anxieties, fears and sadness disrupt the functionality of daily life; If you observe anger problems, bedwetting, night fears, thumb sucking, nail biting, eating and sleeping problems, etc., you need to get support without wasting time.
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