My daughter is 5 yrs old. Her grandpa(who is my stepdad,he is like a my dad(been in my life since I was almost 7 yrs old)) is dying of bone cancer(it is all over his body). They put him on a new cancer pill the 2nd of this month(which was my b-day)if it works he will probably live 6 months n if not 3 months. Are their any books out there that will help her understand what he is goin thru n he will be goin to be passing away. We tried explaining it to her but I don't think she understood. I figured a book would be a better choice with her cause she loves books so much.
Just be honest with her and don't lie to her. Kids are resilient and honesty makes it easier.
This is a book we've used in our house with success. It isn't about cancer specifically, but it does address death and dying: http://www.amazon.com/Miss-You-First-Look-Death/dp/0764117645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362724499&sr=1-1&keywords=i+miss+you
My dad passed away suddenly and he was only 58. My son was 5 at the time and he was really close to his Papa. It was unexpected so there was no "preparing" him..... it was really hard because my mom, sister, brother and I were shell shocked (for lack of a better way term). I was also pregnant with our second child. I remember having to take a step out of my grief to explain in child like language to our son what happened. He went to the funeral of course, but my aunt and uncle were there so they were a huge saving grace at the time. We did read a book back then and it was about a grandparent that passed away and had to do with butterflies.
The children's librarian should be able to help you find something- there are books out there that deal w/ it.
You could maybe word it as, "Grandpa's bones are very sick. The doctors are trying to make them better, but the medicine isn't working like it should." Then explain your beliefs about death.
(((Hugs)))
I'm sorry that your family is going through this difficult time. It's so heartbreaking to see someone that you love suffer. I'll be praying for your family. A really good book for young children on the subject of death is Someone I Loved Died by Christian Tangvald...also...a neat article series on this subject is on the Focus on the Family website http://bit.ly/YnxtQE
My mom has cancer too so I know what you are going through and I'm sorry because I know how hard this is on you and your family. We are Christians so I just explained that she will go to live with God in heaven. I told my DD (who is also 5 btw) that in heaven Mae-Mae won't be sick anymore and she will be young again. So far Mom is OK, but their dog died about a month ago. DD was sad and asked if the dog would go to heaven and would God remember to give her treats? I told her yes and we could pray to have God give Jazz her treats every day- and so we did. She accepted it pretty well, but still talks about the dog and what it's like in heaven and such. I think for us the dog was God preparing DD for what is to come. I hope this helps you. I'll be praying for you and your family.
He called my 5yr old fat.
- hotmomofmakayla
on Mar. 8, 2013 at 12:30 AM