“OMG! How can your three year old be aware of death? You’re the worst parent in the world!” I hear you say. Well guess what? Sometimes pet cats die. And sometimes grandparents die. And sometimes you let your kid watch Nightmare on Elm Street. Okay, I didn’t let him watch that, but the other stuff DID happen and now he’s asking if I’LL die, and if HE’LL die and he’s getting a little anxious about it.

I tell him I don’t PLAN to die, and that it’s really not something he needs to worry about right now. I know if I tell him that everyone dies eventually that it will freak him right out and he’ll obsess over it. Or should I quit postponing the inevitable and perform that “Everybody Dies & It Could Happen Any Time, & It Probably Wont Be You Today But It Could Be” sock puppet play I’ve written for him. Who has a suggestion?

Topics: children, pets, parenting, toddlers, death, tactics, sock puppets