Posted by: i love stl on July 1, 2009 2:35PM CST I think it's a good idea to tell kids that all things die eventually. My FIL died this past November and it was very confusing for my 4 year old. My in laws live out of town so it helped that we didn't see them on a regular basis, but still. I got a book called: Lifetimes. The beautiful way to explain death to children by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen. It's fairly simple and explains death in a non scary way.

Posted by: Robin Schmidt on July 6, 2009 1:16PM CST I agree...some good books could help. One of my favorites is All God's Creatures Go to Heaven by N.A. Noel... here is the Amazon link. http://www.amazon.com/All-Gods-Creatures-Go-Heaven/dp/0965253104 I especially like it for the death of a pet as it talks about when an animal/pet dies, the child angels in Heaven are assigned to them to care for. It can also be good for anyone who's lost a child. I myself delivered a premature baby that died in delivery and being the animal lover I am, a friend gave me this book. Although a children's book I found it therapuetic myself, just imagining my son enjoying the animals in Heaven. I especially loved the beautiful artwork.

Posted by: Aisha on August 16, 2009 10:12AM CST An animal's death, if not properly processed and dealt with, can be traumatic for even older kids. I still remember when I was a kid and our bunny had babies that all died.