How much information should I give my child about a death?

Be as honest as possible while using language appropriate for your child’s age and understanding.

Children may lose trust in the safe adults in their lives if they are given information about a death that they later discover was untrue.

For example, saying that someone “died in their sleep” may initially feel easier for an adult, but a child may understand those words literally and become afraid that they or someone else will die when they go to sleep.

Children may also ask the same question more than once. Repeating a question can be one way of checking that the answer remains the same and that they can trust the grownup answering it.