This means instead of telling your child, “Grandma just . . . went away. She’s in a better place,” saying, “I want to tell you something that you may have big feelings about. Grandma died yesterday. That means her body stopped working,” and then pausing as you sit next to your child and waiting to see what happens next. Maybe later you add on, “It’s okay to be really sad,” or “What great questions you’re asking—I’m so glad we’re talking about it.” The larger lesson we are teaching our kids is that distress is a part of life and when upsetting things happen, we can talk about them and get
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