It’s an uncomfortable, sweaty-palm conversation that needs to happen. Sugarcoating it isn’t going to help in the long run.
When I was a kid I had two cats. One of them, the older cat, got run over by a car one day. My parents told me about it that night. I was like 8 years old and it absolutely devastated me, but knowing what happened allowed me to grieve properly and let all of my feelings out.
My other cat just disappeared one day, and although I suspect that she also died in a similar manner, not knowing the truth always gave me hope that one day she would show back up on my doorstep meowing to be let inside.
My point is that if you try to obfuscate the subject, the risk is that your kid won’t properly understand what happened until much later in life and all the unprocessed emotions can cause trauma. Bluntness might seem cruel in the moment, but you have to do it. Ask for their full attention, sit them down, and tell them what happened, and offer comfort in whatever way you can. The news will hurt them, and they will possibly lash out at you, but eventually they will recover from it and go back to feeling normal again.
It’s an uncomfortable, sweaty-palm conversation that needs to happen. Sugarcoating it isn’t going to help in the long run.
When I was a kid I had two cats. One of them, the older cat, got run over by a car one day. My parents told me about it that night. I was like 8 years old and it absolutely devastated me, but knowing what happened allowed me to grieve properly and let all of my feelings out.
My other cat just disappeared one day, and although I suspect that she also died in a similar manner, not knowing the truth always gave me hope that one day she would show back up on my doorstep meowing to be let inside.
My point is that if you try to obfuscate the subject, the risk is that your kid won’t properly understand what happened until much later in life and all the unprocessed emotions can cause trauma. Bluntness might seem cruel in the moment, but you have to do it. Ask for their full attention, sit them down, and tell them what happened, and offer comfort in whatever way you can. The news will hurt them, and they will possibly lash out at you, but eventually they will recover from it and go back to feeling normal again.
Good luck, OP.