Death is not something Princess wants to hear about or discuss. She finds it very upsetting. As far as she is concerned we are never going to die. She knows that there are people in our lives who have died, but to her there is always a reason.
More recently we have discussed people who died for no other reason than that they were old. This got her thinking and a couple days ago she asked me if we were going to die. I thought about for a second and told her that it was complicated.
You see, I believe in reincarnation. I told her this and I told her that not everybody believes it. I told her that I believe our bodies die, but what's inside us doesn't. It goes into another body and starts over as a baby.
Princess turned to me and said, "Will you buy me the Winnie the Pooh potty when I'm a baby again? I really liked it."
Pressed Leaf Star Garland
8 years ago
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8 comments:
You might like this book if you haven't read it yet.
The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai Gerstein. "A tenderly told story about an old woodcutter and his choices when he faces the chance to live life over again."
http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Tibet-Mordicai-Gerstein/dp/0064432114
That is so precious! I believe the same. Fauna is on her search and asks questions all of the time. All has been well until recently, her best friend told her she will go to hell if she doesn't believe in her same christian God. Fauna just looked at her and said, "No I won't, there is no hell." Fauna then continued to say that not everybody believes in the same thing and that she shouldn't be judged for her belief. She didn't take what her friend said to heart thank goodness and I believe she handled it well.
Such a hard topic for little ones (and big ones).
Rooster X, thanks for the rec! I checked the library and they have it. Hopefully we can read it this weekend. :)
Lisa, I am so impressed with Fauna! Good for her for having the confidence to stand up for herself. You are a good momma!
that's really cute. i don't really know what I believe anymore but that's damn sweet.
Princess is so cute. It is a difficult concept to explain to kids for sure.
LOL it's all about the Winnie The Pooh Potty! My son has had to deal with a lot of death in the past year and has asked lots of difficult questions - i'm not sure i've always had good answers but it has definitely made me think as well...
When Daughter was 6, a family pet that we had since before she was born died suddenly.
It was very traumatic for her and it was the first time that the issue of death had come up.
Though we don't practice any particular faith - myself being prone to believing in Jesus, Heaven, Reincarnation, Karma and Humanism - I basically subscribe to the idea that death is not the end...even if we don't know what happens afterward.
It's a touchy issue and it's a real fact of life that kids face. Mortality is hard enough for most adults.
The best we can do, I think, is give age appropriate answers and assurance, just like you did.
:)
As far as what I believe, it's been a long journey to get where I am. I'm also trying really hard to share my beliefs with Princess without putting any kind of pressure on her to believe what I believe. That's a hard line to walk. I want her to be able to make her own decisions.
As far as her death experiences, so far it's been only fish. That was pretty traumatic when her fish Goldy died. I honestly don't know how she'd handle anything "bigger" than that. I do know that we will be there to support her. I hope that helps.
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
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