5 Year Old Fixated on DEATH

Tweet

... not death as in gory/killing people, but the concept of dying. He wants to talk about it ALL THE TIME! The other day I came across him in his playroom, just sitting there, crying his little heart out... When I asked what was wrong he said, "I don't want to get growed up because that's when you and daddy will be died." (sigh - I get all chocked up just remembering!) I guess I should explain that we went with the honest approach when he asked about death... Our cat died a few months ago and he asked where she went and why. I explained that she went to heaven to wait for us because she was really old. I could go on and on about the conversations, but the long and the short of it is, this is what we typically say: "All living things die" "You die when you get really old" "You don't need to worry about Mommy and Daddy dying until you're all grown up and we're really really old" "After you die, you go to Heaven and become and angel" "Yes, that is where you get buried when you die" We consciously watch WHAT we say because we thought by including "...when you're sick or get into an accident" would scare or confuse him. We never wanted to be the kind of parents that had to explain the truth AFTER we fed him some fairy tale to protect him... or when someone he loves dies... Now, I can't get him to understand that although it is a part of life, it's not something he needs to focus on or worry about. Any words of advice??? How did you explain death to your child??