What Are The Hardest Things To Explain To A Child
Childhood is a magical, joyous time, but there will be moments when parents have to speak to their children about tough things – things that no one really wants to talk about. It’s all part of growing up. What are the hardest things for parents to explain to their children?
Death
Death is a truly difficult thing to explain because no one really understands it. It’s easy (relatively speaking) to explain the biological process of death, but what about everything else? What about trying to explain grief or discussing the afterlife? These are horribly hard questions to even begin thinking about, and when it comes to children, it’s even harder. If the death was sudden or problematic and required a wrongful death attorney, there is a lot to process.
Cancer
Sometimes the cancer discussion can be part of the death discussion, but it doesn’t have to be – after all, the good news is that not all cancers are terminal. However, terminal or not, it’s a terrible disease, and if someone your child knows has it, they need to know that that person is going to become very ill. You may need to talk about the different treatments that their loved one will go through, such as chemo and radiotherapy, and the side effects (hair loss being the big one). Remember to reassure them that cancer is not contagious, though – they can (and should) still go and see their friend or family member.
School Shootings
It is sad in America we live in a time where we have to worry about our kids safety at school. Having to do lock down drills before learning out ABCs is horrific. However, it is something that will come up in your child’s life if they live in the US. Try to limit the news, while it is important to stay informed, watching the news all day will not change the outcome and can cause added stress. You don’t need to know all the answers. You can let them know if you are unsure or research it together if they are older. Normalize the emotions, any emotion your child shares is valid, don’t dismiss their emotions talk about ways to cope with them. Finally, answer any questions they have in age-appropriate language.
Drunk Driving
Drunk driving is a taboo thing to do, but it still happens, and it can wreck lives. If they know someone who has been caught for drink driving, someone who has been in court, the chances are they will want to know all about it. It’s hard to explain to children that people sometimes do things that they know are wrong, especially if it has caused a lot of damage.
Divorce
How do you explain why two people no longer love one another when explaining what love is is almost impossible to begin with? If it is the child’s parents who are divorcing, it will be even harder to explain, and it’s important that whoever is doing the explaining doesn’t alienate the child from the other parent. That’s not fair because it’s not the child’s fault. The child needs to be reassured that they will still be loved by both parents, even if they no longer all live together. It’s a horrible time, but it will pass, and everyone will (hopefully) be much happier afterward.
