Children can get to create very strong ties with pets In fact, it is said that up to a certain age the little ones consider that your pet is your best friend. However, whether due to illness, an accident or simply due to age, our animal companions die and this loss can be experienced as a very sad and complicated situation, both in our case and in the smallest of the house.
Adults understand in more detail what death and grieving processes mean. For this reason, it is our responsibility to communicate the death of an animal to children in the best possible way, in a calm way and avoiding lying or hiding the bad news. Do you want to know how to explain to a child the death of her pet ? Then we recommend reading the following article on our site.
How to prepare a child for the death of her pet?
When your dog or cat dies, it usually entails a hard grieving process and in this it is possible to experience emotions of deep sadness and pain. For this, and in the event that it is possible, it is best to prepare for that moment. If your pet is going through a terminal illness and shows signs that she may leave you soon, it is your responsibility to prepare the little onesof the house for the death of your pet.
Just like adults, children can handle the news of death if they expect it and are prepared. To do this, we can follow these steps:
- Tell him about your pet's he alth condition: What may seem obvious to you, your child may not finish understanding. To do this, you can tactfully tell him that your pet is sick and may not have long to live.
- Speak Naturally About Death: The cycle of life is a natural phenomenon, it can be sad and it's definitely a shock hard, but to face the loss the best thing is to talk calmly about what can happen.
- Enjoy his last days: Instead of spending your final moments in sorrow and pain, you can try to enjoy his company by giving him lots of love and affection.
To prepare a child for the death of his dog, cat or other pet, it is important to know if it is going to die or not. To do this, we recommend you read this article: 5 symptoms that a dog it's going to die. In case your pet is a cat, we offer you the following: 5 symptoms that a cat is going to die.
However, if you suspect that your pet is seriously ill, it is essential to go to a veterinarian to have it examined and offer all possible solutions.
How to tell a child about the death of a pet?
Although many parents prefer to hide the truth and even invent an elaborate fable to explain to their children that they will no longer see your pet, it is important to know that this is not the way to explain the death of an animal to a child. Next, we offer you the most effective advice from the theories of psychology:
1. Sincerity above all
It is very important not to tell lies such as "he has run away" or "other people have adopted him" to prevent the child from becoming sad or going through a grieving process.
Despite being something very painful, death is a real phenomenon that occurs in our present and that our children will have to face sooner or later. If we want to know how to explain the death of their pet to a child, it is essential to find an intimate place, the right time and talk to him from sincerity. In addition, being sincere, we give the child the opportunity to go through his own phase of acceptance and farewell of your pet.
two. Express your feelings
The child may not express his or her feelings correctly because he or she does not know how to cope with the loss. If he is not able to see how you feel, he may deduce that being sad is bad or that it is not the way to live a loss.
Crying, feeling sorrow and pain is not something intrinsically negative, it is a way of expressing ourselves when something bad happens to us. Also, by telling how you feel, your little one will feel understood and will bond with you.
3. Answer your questions
If you have never had an experience where a pet or loved one died before, you may have many questions about the loss and the death itself, in this case, try talking to them about a natural way about the cycle of life.
5. Don't make it up with another pet
Many parents also choose to adopt a puppy, cat or other animal to replace the loss caused by the death of their pet. This option is not only ineffective but also involves treating animals as mere interchangeable objects If your pet has died, it's importantgo through the relevant grieving process , tell the child about the death of their dog or cat and re-adopt when it really is the right time to do so.
Child psychology: the grieving process when a pet dies
This news may be the child's first contact with the concept of death and all that it entails. The childhood mourning process is lived in a different way than the same process in adults. Dr. Abigail Marks, a psychologist specializing in child grief, tells us that a child's pain is more oscillating: the sadness can last a while, he cries for a few minutes, he plays again and can start crying the next minute.
A study conducted by Joshua Russell[1]in 2016 found that little ones describe the loss of their pet asone of the most painful moments they remember. However, that same study revealed that boys and girls are able to rationalize the death of their animal companion effectively and through emotional intelligence.
With this information, it is easier to understand childhood grief. While it is true that you should stay close to the child and show that you will always be there when they ask for help, as a parent or guardian, it is important that you give the space that the child needsto express yourself until a certain amount of time has passed. If you see that the symptoms of sadness last longer than initially thought, it is possible that the child is going through a pathological grief In this case, the psychological therapy can be an effective solution.
What to do when our pet dies?
The loss of a loved animal is a hard blow for the whole family. It is very likely that it has been part of very beautiful and emotional memories and moments, thus becoming one more member of your family nucleus.
Your responsibility as an adult in this case will be to communicate to the child the death of his pet, show him the naturalness of this moment and the fact that it is not a bad thing to feel sadness and pain temporarily to overcome a phase. As painful as it is, it's important to stay together and accept the loss of your pet in the best possible way. If the child sees that, as a reference person, you accept the loss and move on, it is very likely that he will experience it in a similar way. In addition, this experience will serve as a tool for overcoming future losses or similar experiences.
In short, the loss of an animal is a hard and very sad moment. However, if you learn to explain to a child the death of his dog, cat or other animal, you will not only be giving him a very important vital learning but you will also In turn, you will be learning to be a little stronger and to accept these types of experiences.
On the other hand, it is important to call the registry in which the animal is registered to report the event. For more information, see the article "What should I do if my dog dies" if your faithful companion is a dog.
