crabcake
But wait, there's more...
This is what I had the pleasure of discussing with my 5-year-old tonight on our way home. She's been saying "I want to be a kid forever" a lot lately, and I wasn't sure why or where this came from, but I told her that, with the exception of a few times, being an adult is pretty cool stuff and you get to make the rules in your home and all. (I figured now wasn't the time to tell her about paying bills though ).
For about 20 minutes, she bawled her eyes out saying, "But I don't want to die. How will I breathe when I go under ground? Who is going to take care of me when I'm under ground? How will I see you with all that dirt on top of my box?" So, yes, at this point, I'm choked up and practically bawling my eyes out too. All I could think of to explain it to her was just like we use a car to go places, God uses her body as a vehicle to accomplish certain things while her spirit (told her it was her brain; hey, she's 5 ) goes to heaven, and in heaven, it's the coolest place to be where all the toys of the world are, she can have whatever she wants, she can fly if she wants (something she's always saying she wishes she had wings for), etc.
That cheered her up enough to stop crying, but I know this isn't the end of the discussion. Any suggestions/experience for explaining death to a 5-year-old without scaring the hell out of her?
For about 20 minutes, she bawled her eyes out saying, "But I don't want to die. How will I breathe when I go under ground? Who is going to take care of me when I'm under ground? How will I see you with all that dirt on top of my box?" So, yes, at this point, I'm choked up and practically bawling my eyes out too. All I could think of to explain it to her was just like we use a car to go places, God uses her body as a vehicle to accomplish certain things while her spirit (told her it was her brain; hey, she's 5 ) goes to heaven, and in heaven, it's the coolest place to be where all the toys of the world are, she can have whatever she wants, she can fly if she wants (something she's always saying she wishes she had wings for), etc.
That cheered her up enough to stop crying, but I know this isn't the end of the discussion. Any suggestions/experience for explaining death to a 5-year-old without scaring the hell out of her?