Start with what the child knows—what do they understand about death and dying? “Do you know what happens when somebody dies?” [Pause.] Maybe they don’t respond or maybe they do. “When someone dies, their body stops working.” [Put your hand on your heart.] “Their heart is not beating anymore.” [Put your hand by your mouth.] “They are not breathing anymore. They don’t eat or sleep or play or go to the bathroom. The really hard part is that when someone dies, we don’t see their body anymore. That’s why you might see people crying or feeling sad.”
