[plug] [OT] Dead pets

[Gavin Chester]

On Mon, 2005-05-16 at 14:05 +0000, simon wrote:
> Hey all, soz for the completely OT question but....
> 
> The problem: 3.5 year old daughter, dead budgie...... too young to teach about
> death?
> 
> If so, whats a good excuse for his sudden disappearance? :)
> 
> Thanks
> 
> --
> =================
> Simon Scott
> simon at plumtek.com
> mob: 0409113359
> =================

At the risk of sounding superior:

Whoa!  Do the other posters to this thread actually HAVE kids???  I
realise that most/all were tongue in cheek, but come on!

I've had four kids myself (I know - bad for the planet, but I didn't set
out to have that many. Long story).  Kids are more resilient than people
seem to give them credit for and parents have crapped on to them for too
many generations out of fear of hurting the fairytale view of the world.
Many would say that this makes them weaker in the long run.  

Okay, I'll climb down off my high-horse now ;-)

Take it as an ideal opportunity to explain about death & birth.  Make a
_proper_ ceremony out of burying the bird in a special spot in the
garden and put a memorial there for the kid to remember.  Sure, the
disappearing bird/dog/cat trick is easy in the short term but the kid
needs educating.  I worked out as a teenager that my parents had
hoodwinked me about pets when I was a littly and I resented them for it
at the time.  

Three and a half is not too young for all this.

Most important of all by doing it this way, when Granny (or whoever)
dies your child will be emotionally prepared to grieve healthily. 

Just my two cents.

Regards, Gavin