As hard as it may be to tell them how the person died, children and teens always need to be told the truth. One way or another they will find out the truth and if you as their parent or caregiver haven’t been honest with them they may think you can’t be trusted.
Some examples are:
- What happened to Daddy? “Daddy died by suicide which means he killed himself. He had an illness in his brain that had him think there were no other options to take the pain away.”
- How did he do it? ‘With a gun.”
- Didn’t Mommy love us? “She loved you very much but sadly because of the illness in her brain she thought this would be better. Mommy was very sick in her brain.”
- Can this happen to me? “It is very unlikely but if at any time in your life you feel this way we would get you help right away to protect you and keep you safe.”