Helping Your Child Cope with the Death of a Pet

Children throughout the ages have always wanted a pet of some kind be it a dog, cat, bird, guinea pig, hamster or other. And throughout the ages parents have had to help their child/children deal with the death of a beloved pet. Here are a few tips to help out your child/children with the death of a pet.

The first thing to do is be honest with your child no matter what their age. Do not tell them their dog ran off and is with another family now. Do not flush the goldfish and try to replace it with another one. Be open and honest and let them know exactly what happened to their pet. Just sit them down and tell them straight out that their pet has died. Answer all of their questions as best as you can and then let them do what ever they need to do. If they want to be alone, let them. Cry with them to let them know you cared about the pet (even if you did not) because this lets the child know you care about them and their feelings.

One thing that my friend did with her little girl was to have her draw pictures of her dog that had just died. This made her little girl very happy and the grief was not as hard on her.

Let the child grieve in his/her own way. If they want to have a funeral for their pet, then have one. If they do not do not force them to. If they want to help you bury the pet, let them. Even help them make a head stone for the grave.

Let the child talk about their pet. Ask them what their favorite thing was about their cat or dog. Ask them questions about what their favorite memory about their hamster is. Let them tell you things about their fish. Most of all make sure you hug them and let them know that they will begin to feel better in a few days. Let them know that they will not feel this way forever and that they will always remember their pet.

However, do not under any circumstances go out the next day and get them another animal. This, to be honest, just seems to degrade the memory of their other animal. It is almost as if telling the child that their lost pet is very easy to replace. At least a month should pass before getting another pet for your child. When you do decide to get another one, make sure to ask the child first. Let him/her go with you to pick it out. Tell the child that their previous pet can never be replaced, but this one needs a good home and family just like their other one. Always let the child name the new pet themselves. If they want to call them "Snowball the Second", then let them. That is usually their way of keeping the other pet "alive".

We all know that most children are very resilient and easily get over things. But as we all know death is a hard thing to accept for anyone. As hard as it is on adults then it has got to be hard on children. Remember back to when you yourself had to deal with the death of a pet. More than likely your child/children are feeling just exactly like you did.

In conclusion, the main thing to do when a child's pet dies is to make it as easy on the child as possible. Let them grieve in their own way. Yet, you must grieve with them and cry with them and comfort them. Remember, a child's pet is usually their best friend.

Source:

Going through with our little boy our fish dying and having friends who have gone through it with their children (I think I cried more than our little boy when our fish died.)