How to Help Your Children Deal With the Loss of a Pet

The death of a pet is never easy, regardless of your age.  Pets are parts of our families, and we grow to love them more than we even realize.  The death of a beloved pet can be especially hard on children.  Today, we will look at how you can talk to your kids following the loss of a family pet.

Whether or not you tell your children that pets have gone to heaven depends largely on your religious or spiritual beliefs, but there are certainly some things that you should avoid.  For starters, you don’t want to tell your child that the pet has run away or that it is sleeping.  This may seem easier, but it gives the child a prolonged hope that the animal will return.  Using the word dead is actually recommended, though you will certainly want to explain that the pet is no longer in any pain or suffering.

Another important thing is to let your children mourn for their pets.  Let your little ones know that it is okay to feel sad after the loss of an animal.  Allow them to cry, talk about their pets, or even pretend that it is still there if it helps them to process what has happened.  Practical measures include allowing the little ones to hold a family ‘funeral’ for the pet, where they can talk about the pet and draw pictures or write poems to display. If the pet is buried in your back yard, plant a tree or beautiful flowering bush on the grave, and allow the children to decorate the grave as they wish with pretty stones and flowers. This will give the children a focal point and a creative outlet for their grief, and a place to go if they wish to ‘talk to’ the deceased pet.

Whether we realize it or not, pets are important parts of our lives, and your little ones will find their own way of coming to terms with the loss.  When you allow your children to work through their own feelings, dealing with the loss of a family pet can be easier on everyone.