you tell them that "so and so's" body is still here, but what makes the person alive (the spirit) has left to be with the Elders. Its alright, its natural, and when the time comes, the Elders will be reunited with us.

tell them the truth and never gave them fantasies as an answer, tell them that all things that has life are meant to end in some time..

Depends on the death..is it natural/old age? If so, I would use something like a flower or fruit to explain it.. I would tell them that over time things die because of A,B,C...etc

I told mine that they passed on & went to heaven. I've had to deal with death from a very early age & I tried to comfort my son when we had to deal with it. When his father died at the age of 31 & my son was just 7 I told him he had a heart attack. Which was true because your heart has to stop for you to die, but as he got older & I found out it was a suspected overdose I told him when I thought he was old enough to accept it & understand it. I've heard some people tell their kids that such & such went to sleep & never woke up. How terrible, gives those kids night terrors thinking if they go to sleep they will never wake up. So I just told him anything that died(animal ect.) had a bad heart & died. He didn't ask any more questions after that.

I tell my daughter if someone passes away that then went to heaven to be with god because he called them home and if it's a animal that died I tell her they went to kitty heaven, doggy heaven etc and that seems to work for her.

I don't know if you can. You just have to say they are gone, and they won't be back. And offer further information if needed.

you dont

You tell them that it's like what it would feel like if Babar left and never came back (or if Babar is no longer a relevant example, use Pokemon or Power Rangers or something accessible).

Um.. you wait until they're older

I dont know that I would explain death to a toddler. If I had to say anything, I would explain that his body stopped working. Toddlers can't comprehend the idea of death, or even that they will never see someone again.

I heard a great story years ago that may help you.... As I recall a child's grandfather had just died and to explain it to him/her the parents told him that 'nobody really knows what happens to us in heaven, so grandpa went ahead of us to find out.'...anyway I hope it helps:)

You simply explain that whomever died went to Heavan. They will no longer see them on Earth, but when they get to Heavan, they will be able to. Meanwhile, the one who died is up there, no longer in pain, but having fun, and helping make rain, sunshine, snow, etc. (This works if you/they go to church, or they've learned something about religion - Yes... "Jesus Loves Me", The Lords Prayer, or whatever religion you follow has, is usually enough.) If you are Atheist, you can try the "gone on" approach... That this life is just a stop on the road of life, and whomever died has "gone on" to the next life, preparing the way for the rest of the family. If you don't believe in the "going on" story, then it's just that they will no longer see whomever died. If they want to know where they are, you can try to explain funerals and burial (or cremation), but I think THAT should be something for older kids.

A toddler can't understand death, it's hard enough for grown folks! I had kids of all ages when my grandpa died, if they asked questions I would answer, but not in great detail. Kids will only ask the things they really want an answer too. But not toddlers. That would just confuse them. Let babies stay babies.

A toddler is really a little too small to learn about death. You should just use a cliche' explanation like : "It's just sleeping..." or change the subject until they are a bit older. When you feel they are old enough to comprehend, be honest with them but clean it up a bit so as not to scare them.

When my grandfather died of a heart attack my toddler was crushed. They were so close. Nik(my son) kept asking my why granpa's heart stopped beepin'. I explained the best I could with tears flowing down my eyes that grandpa's heart got tired and he wanted to go by great-grandma and God up in Heaven. I will never forget that moment.

To explain death as "just sleeping" has been known to cause enough distress and fear in children that they become unable to sleep. The fact that they are little doesn't mean you can't be honest. They may not understand at the time, but it will be a beginning of learning about the permanency of death. In my opinion, Big (answer #1 as I write this) has the right idea.

It is how we connect to everything around us. We have a beginning and an end.

In my opinion, I think you can't. Please do not ever tell the child the person "went to sleep". The child will be terrified. Explain, perhaps, that the person was so desparetely ill that they could not live in that way. Explain that it will not happen to the child until they are very old. Little lies are always better than trumatizing a young child. Tell them the person is happy now,and free of pain. You may also wish to put in your own view some religious place that they may have gone. That is personal for you and the child.

tell them you go to the great toy store in the sky

Not all at one time. Explaining death to a toddler is an ongoing process. My mom died last October when Little Bit was four. We started talking about it for weeks ahead of time. We went to see mom every week for her last few months, so Little Bit watched her getting weaker and weaker. We answered her questions as best we could each week, and made sure that she understood that the end was coming and Grandma wouldn't be with us anymore. We told her to make sure she got as many hugs and kisses as she could and that she said what she wanted to say to Grandma. We told her that Grandma's body was getting tired and weak and sick and she just wouldn't be able to go on much longer. We told her that she would be going to heaven to be with Jesus and with her mommy and daddy and that she be able to have a new body and to snuggle with her own mommy soon. When mom finally died, Little Bit was really angry for some time. They had been through chemo together, both had cancer at the same time, and I think she had some fear that she didn't know how to express. We talked a good bit about how Grandma had a different cancer and we knew that this would eventually happen, but that Little Bit's cancer was different and she wasn't likely to get sick like Grandma. We put her in Tae Kwon Do and let her spend a lot of time punching and kicking pillows. Eventually she started getting out her toy phone to "call Grandma in heaven." To this day, a year later, its something she does often. Not everyday anymore, but several times a week. She talks about Grandma and to Grandma all the time. She gets out pictures of the two of them together and talks about things they did together. We've had a lot of help from Hospice and from children's cancer organizations on how to help her deal with the grief. She and mom were terribly close and it has been a hard road. One organization I found that really helped was the Dougy Center. http://www.dougy.org/ They sent us a lot of good information on how to help Little Bit deal with her grief and anger.

i dont have kids. im a teenager but my advice would be to tell him/her that they went to go visit the angels, god, and any other friends&family you know that have passed.

Have you tried asking at the library? There are picture books for toddler and parent on lots of "difficult" subjects I'm sure they will have something to meet your needs.

We had to deal with this with my niece when her grandfather passed away. Our family being religious explained that pops was older and tired and his body could not work any longer and that he went to live with jesus and that he was up in the clouds playing. This seemd to work for her.

When my dad died my boys where 2 and half, it was hard to explain where grandad had gone, so one evening we sat a looked up in to the sky and I told my boys that the brightest star in the sky at night was Grandad saying goodnight, a little while after this one of my boys had a helium balloon, he was carrying it home when suddenly it flew up in to the sky but instead of getting really upset he was happy that the balloon was going up to Grandad

tell them nicely that they went on a long trip with the angels to heaven.

I will ask what he likes doing most and then tell him death is when you can't do all the things you like anymore.

As a Christian, and a parent, I choose to use the Bible's explanation: Ecclesiastes 9:5 says "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten." and John 11:11-14 says "He said these things, and after this he said to them: “Laz´a·rus our friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.” Therefore the disciples said to him: “Lord, if he has gone to rest, he will get well.” Jesus had spoken, however, about his death. But they imagined he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. At that time, therefore, Jesus said to them outspokenly: “Laz´a·rus has died" So I explain it as Jesus did: Death is sleep. You are unconscious and aware of nothing. The only place you continue to exist is in God's memory.

My son's grandmother died when he was 4 and a half. I told him in the most straightforward way possible. I said that she was so sick that the doctors could not fix her and that she would never get any better, and that death means that we won't be able to see her every day anymore and that she will never be coming back. I did not say she 'went to sleep' or 'on a long trip' because I think those answers cause more problems. My son took a while to deal with it, but now he can talk about his memories of her and be happy that she lived long enough for him to know and love her.

Truthfully -- death is part of life -- all living things die such as plants, bugs, dogs, and yes, people.

If you have ever had a pet that died and the 7 year old was there and remembered it, use this as a comparison.

its delusion death is wakening in a new world