yeah, your daughter sounds a bit more nuanced and advanced emotionally than my Ben.
oh, and my dog's name is "Ellie"....pretty name :/ On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 1:36 PM, Judah McAuley <ju...@wiredotter.com> wrote: > > We also gave my daughter's kindergarten teacher a heads up, so she would > know what Ellie was going through and have context for any things that she > felt the need to talk about. Wisely, as it turns out, because she felt the > need to explain to the kids in her class "our cat is going to die today". > > Judah > > > On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 11:34 AM, Judah McAuley <ju...@wiredotter.com > >wrote: > > > She was 5 and she's 7 now. We explained to her that all living things > die, > > as she knew, and that our cat Gracie was nearing the end of hers. We > > pointed out the trouble she'd been having, the pain she'd been in, and > that > > we wanted to make sure that she was well taken care of, that she wouldn't > > be hurting any longer. We did have to go through a discussion about why > we > > wouldn't be burying her in our yard as my daughter wanted to make a > > monument there so she could always visit. I explained that since we rent > > our house, we wouldn't always be here, so that wouldn't work. That lead > to > > the idea of pictures, so she'd always have something to remember Gracie > by. > > > > Judah > > > > > > On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 11:28 AM, GMoney <gm0n3...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> > >> How old was she though? I don't expect that reaction from my 4 year old, > >> frankly. I expect mostly "why?" questions. My son hasn't really shown > that > >> level or depth of emotion yet. > >> > >> > >> On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Judah McAuley <ju...@wiredotter.com> > >> wrote: > >> > >> > > >> > Explain what is going to happen, let them make a choice about how they > >> want > >> > to deal with it. My daughter really wanted to take some pictures of > our > >> cat > >> > and the family together. It was rough, no doubt, but it made her feel > >> like > >> > she got to have a hand in the parting and that was good for her. I > took > >> > our cat to the vet while she was at school and gave myself time to cry > >> > afterwards. > >> > > >> > There were still sad times that came and went for my daughter > afterwards > >> > but the pictures helped her. > >> > > >> > Cheers, > >> > Judah > >> > > >> > > >> > On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 10:36 AM, GMoney <gm0n3...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> > > >> > > > >> > > So we have to put our dog down. My son is 4 and daughter 2, both > just > >> a > >> > few > >> > > months from turning 5 and 3. > >> > > > >> > > Should i tell them before I take the dog in, and explain that she > >> won't > >> > be > >> > > coming back...so that they can say a goodbye? Would they feel > >> > overwhelming > >> > > sadness? I'm ok with them feeling sad that she's going away, but i > >> don't > >> > > want them to be emotionally wrecked. > >> > > > >> > > I think the 2 year old is probably young enough to just move on, but > >> Ben > >> > > will definitely know that he's going to lose his pet forever. > >> > > > >> > > I dunno...anyone had to deal with this at a similar age for their > >> kids? > >> > > > >> > > I'm thinking I should either: > >> > > > >> > > 1) Tell them the day before i'm taking her in that she's leaving for > >> good > >> > > tomorrow, and they should say goodbye...then just answering their > >> > questions > >> > > honestly afterwards or > >> > > 2) Not telling them before hand, and waiting until they ask where > the > >> dog > >> > > is before explaining why she had to go away. > >> > > > >> > > Advice? > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > >> > > >> > >> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:369231 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
